Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: The Art of Warfare
by fujin of shadows
Summary: In most dimensions, Ichika is the only male I.S Pilot. In this dimension, Infinite Stratos doesn't exist. There is only one truth in this dimension: Magic. Is a product of neither legends nor fairy tales, but instead has become a technology of reality since a time unknown to people. MKnrXIS Formerly known as Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style
1. Before the Prologue

_**I AM GOING TO REVIVE THIS FIC…. I AM GOING TO ALTER THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS TO MATCH MY VISION FOR THIS FIC…**_

_**I FINALLY KNOW THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THIS FIC WILL GO…..**_

_**SO PLEASE ENJOY THIS AS I REVISED THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS….**_

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_**Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Infinite Stratos Style**_

_**CHAPTER 0.5: BEFORE THE PROLOGUE **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own IS: Infinite Stratos OR Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei but I own this fiction and any other OC's in this story **_

_ITALIC: THOUGHTS_

**BOLD: MOVEMENTS**

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Blood

That substance had been my greatest weapon in my days as a bounty hunter.

I could not help but let out a weak chuckle as my greatest weapon slowly leaves my body. It's strange; I hated my blood because it was the very thing that gave me strength, it was the thing that gave me power, it was the thing that made me a legend in Asia.

I hated my blood because of the unwanted things it gave me.

But as of right now, as my blood slowly flows out of my body, I could not help but mourn my lost.

My blood, my strongest weapon and the thing I hated the most about my magic, is abandoning me as well, just like Madoka and Chifuyu-nee.

It's so sad I almost cried.

I would have cried if I had the energy.

I am dying, an irony considering who I am.

I am, after all, Sin the Immortal.

Funny, I never cared about the many nicknames I received in my career as a Bounty Hunter.

Let's see; I am known as Sin the Immortal in Taiwan, Bloody Sin in Afghanistan, Sin the Demon in most parts of China, Sinful Blade in Israel….Let us just say that I have at least five nicknames in every country in Asia, most of them not very endearing.

Where was I, oh yes, I was dying. My regeneration, although finally reactivating, cannot regenerate all the organs that I transplanted into my little sister. My regeneration may be impressive but it is still an ability born from a human being. Like all human beings and everything produce by a human being, my regeneration has limits and I am also applicable to death.

And after five years in living within the edge of a blade, the Grim Reaper, the Shinigami is finally going to claim me.

Strange, I can actually see a hooded figure with a scythe ready to take my head.

Well, there is at least a bright side of me dying. I finally discovered that the Grim Reaper does not have orange hair!

There goes my childhood!

Yeah right, what childhood? I did not have a childhood. I relinquish my childhood when I decided that I want my mother to love me.

Since I could remember, I think I was three and a half when my mind matured enough for me to remember things, my life had been dedicated in making those who mattered to me happy.

My mother, for example, for her, I learned how to design, build, and maintain weapons of every kind. I wasn't delusional; I know my beloved mother did not love me originally, so I thrive, I work hard to earn her love and I succeeded.

My mother loves me and I cherish the affection she has for me, even if it's conditional.

My twin sister, I've been looking out for her for the longest time, since I was born, so I've been told. I held back my strength so that she could feel special, so that she could feel less threaten, so that she could shine. Being related to Chifuyu the Ice Queen and Kana that Orimura Vampire will not do any good to the psyche of anyone, especially Madoka.

I tried to be a good brother to her; I tried so hard to give her comfort, to assure her that she does not need to compete with Chifuyu-nee and Kana. I truly tried to shower her with love and affection so that she could feel happy, like she is a part of a loving family, and also for her to realize that I would still care for her even if she's not the strongest. I will always love Madoka, no matter what.

But in the end, that thrice damn inferiority complex of her tore us apart.

Funny, I fought for Setsura; I fought a war for her to have a good life. I offered my body to Chifuyu-nee so that she could release her stress and be happy.

But for Madoka, I took lives for her; I killed dozens of people for her, to protect her, no more, no less. I fought for Setsura, I castrated myself of my dignity for Chifuyu-nee, but only for my twin, only for her did I take a life and she hated me for it.

And speaking of Chifuyu-nee, I would have given her the world if she had asked me to, I would have had given it to her in an instant. I love her, since I could remember, I had loved her. How could I not? She's beautiful, she's strong; she's kind, she is everything I want in a lover, she has everything I want in a wife.

I deluded myself that she love me too, after all, she gave me her first, something that a woman of Chifuyu-nee's caliber would give to the person she loves the most. She gave it to me and though the circumstances were questionable, she till gave it to me in a night of passion.

But in the end, my nightmares were right, she was just using me, and I enjoyed every second of it, regardless of how painful it was when I accepted that fact. I also did not regret our relationship, regardless of how it ended.

Well, at least I won't die as a virgin! That counts as something.

I laughed at this thought. True, I will not die as a virgin, but I would have at least wanted to experience making love before I die.

Oh well, at the very least, I was able to preserve the life of my pride, Setsura.

I chuckle weakly as blood dripped down my mouth.

My life sucks; I hated myself since the day I learned the nature of my magic. I did not live my life for myself; I lived my life for those I cared about for me to forget how much I hated myself, how much I hated my magic.

I cannot, I refuse to love myself but I want those who I cared for love me.

And that brought me excruciating pain that I barely endured.

And I did not regret it one bit, regardless of the pain that I experience.

And the person who became the reprieve to my pain was the person who I wasn't able to love properly.

I smiled sadly at the thought of Setsura, my half-sister. She is probably the most magnificent woman that I ever knew or have the pleasure of knowing. She was so strong, regardless of what life, what this world threw at her, she stood firm, strong, tall and beautiful, something that I failed to do in my life.

When her mother died, she cried but she recovered and became stronger than ever.

When I was training her to fight and teaching her how to use her magic, she mastered everything I taught her and endured the harshness of my training.

When I was teaching her everything that a person of her caliber should learn, she absorbed all my teachings, and developed her very own philosophy, beliefs, and justice.

When she was suffering from the backlash of her mother's stupidity, she remained steadfast and strong, willing herself to live when others would have given up.

When she was in the verge of death, she was unfazed and merely welcomed death with that angelic smile of hers.

I cannot help but admire her because of her strong will, and feel overwhelming pride because I was the one that raised her to be what she is today.

I suddenly laughed bitterly. Yeah right! I am giving myself too much credit.

Setsura would be the same person that she is today even without my assistance. That is how magnificent she is. She was born great, and she is destined for greatness.

My only regrets, the only regrets I have in my life was that I won't be here to see her shine anymore and that I wasn't able to love her the way she deserves to be love.

Setsura has been such a wonderful person and though our relationship wasn't bad, our relationship was never bad, I wasn't able to love and cherish her properly. The one person who deserves love and affection more than anyone I know, I wasn't able to properly give it to her.

That is my greatest and biggest failure of my life.

But still, at the very least, I was able to preserve her life. She would live a long life and she would be the greatest and strongest magician this country will ever have in its history. She has so much talent, she has so much skill, the power she wields is beyond anything a person as young as her should have, and her strong will is something to be admired.

I made the right decision taking her in and I will leave this world knowing that she would grow to be an even more wonderful woman in the future.

I smiled at this as I could feel my life slowly leaving me in the same pace as my blood leaking out of my body.

Yes, it is almost time; the time for me to meet my maker is closing in, fast approaching.

It is a real pity that Kurazakura-sama wasn't able to wound me during that fight. I would have enjoyed talking with her one last time before I turn into dust and I would die in peace knowing that I could entrust Setsura with the person that I trust the most.

But even without Kurazakura-sama, I would die in peace knowing that Setsura would have everything I have. Setsura would live luxuriously with my treasures and resources, she would be safe.

Yes, I can die in peace knowing that.

I could feel the last drop of blood leaving my body.

I can die know. I can finally have a well deserve rest.

I smiled one last time as my eyes slowly close. Yes, I would die with a smile that would tell Setsura that I did not regret dying. It would be the last thing I would teach her.

My last lesson for her is that a magician should not die with regret. A person should not die having regrets.

Yes, that would be my last lesson for Setsura.

I close my eyes as I waited for me to take my last breathe.

It is almost time for the last entry of my life…

"…Oniisama….."

I snapped my eyes open again as my body was suddenly filled with energy, the adrenaline giving me enough fuel to smile malevolently at the one person who I wish I treated with more affection.

Setsura entered my gallery; her legs were shaking, her body quivering, and a look of exhaustion gracing her features. Her body looks very frail yet it still maintained that figure that most girls would kill for.

As she slowly walks towards me, I could not help but admire her even more.

Her health was extremely bad for most of her life; she was in a pseudo-coma for almost a week, and she just went through the most gruesome and intense multiple organ transplants in the history of medicine (I had to transfer all of my organs into her, with the exception of the organs that make me a man and my brain) yet she is still able to stand, albeit barely.

She was so strong, stronger than I could ever hope to be.

"Hey there," I spoke weakly, my voice was very quiet.

Yeah, it's only a matter of time before I die and it seems that whoever is up there really hates my guts.

Really, Setsura is going to watch me die, really, really, REALLY!

What the hell have I done in my current and/or past life to be dealt with this kind of cards?

I watched as Setsura looked at me from head to toe and after a second, tears started falling from her eyes, a look of sadness and self-loathing gracing her beautiful face as she looked at the ground.

Looking at those tears made me want to cry as well. I don't want to make her sad.

"Y-Y-You went through with your plan." She started and I could only nod in reply.

"I was given a choice, sacrifice my life for you to live or gamble your life in hopes of my Regeneration beating your mother's Decomposition." I spoke sullenly, forcing myself to have this one last conversation with her. "As much as I despised Shirayuki-hime, I cannot beat her Decomposition-Magic, not at my current level. If I continue to gamble with my Regeneration, then you would have been dead by day's end…" Shirayuki-hime, I will see you in hell!

"You went through so much pain for me, again." She whispered ruefully, her voice filled with self-loathing and sadness, so much that it was heartbreaking.

"You were worth it." I told her softly, willing myself not to break down.

I am weak but in Setsura's eyes, I am strong. I need to maintain that image so that I don't disappoint her.

"I AM NOT WORTH THIS!" For the first time in our relationship, she yelled at me and strangely, that made me very happy. "I am not worth Oniisama forfeiting his life."

"Yes you are," I argued as I stood up and limp towards Setsura. I cannot feel any part of my body. I do not have a drop of blood in my dead body. I do not even have the necessary organs to have a body. My regeneration faded away seconds ago. The magical powers that I had developed through the years was already gone.

I should be dead right now, for all intents and purposes; I should be dead right now, I should be a corpse but I won't die yet, not yet. I need to tell Setsura something, something important.

I could only see a blur but I could still recognize that white hair anywhere in the world, and the sight of that beautiful white hair, brighter than any diamond that I have ever seen, that alone is the greatest send off a person like me deserves.

I stop a mere foot in front of Setsura before gently raising my arms, using every ounce of strength I have, I gently place my hands on her shoulders. I look at her directly in the eyes and though I could only see a blur that is enough for me to be saturated with awe with her divine beauty.

God, I don't deserve to have someone like her in my life.

"I'm a broken man, Setsura. I want to die, I want to rest. I am so tired of all the pain. I don't want to fight anymore, I'm sick of it." I began as I started breathing hard. It's taking me every ounce of my remaining strength and magic to will my body to move and to talk.

I do not want to die in front of Setsura and if I do die in front of her, I will die standing and with a smile. That would be the best way for me to die.

"I lost my will to live a long time ago but I did not want to die because I was taking care of you. You, the thought of you alone were enough motivation for me to continue living this empty life." I cannot thank Setsura enough. Her very existence was the one thing that pushed me into living this life for the past couple of months.

"You were dying, I had to save you, and I had no other alternative. Either me or you, I choose you because you were worth a thousand of me." I slowly move my hand and wipe the tears that were falling from her eyes. She should not cry, somebody as beautiful and as wonderful as her should not be crying.

"I am a use up, rusty sword that is already broken beyond repair. You are a magnificent work of art that would become one of the world's greatest wonder, dying for a person like you is an honor for someone like me." Every time I talk about her, I could not help but feel overwhelming pride and it showed in my voice.

I raised Setsura and although I'm confident that she would be an amazing person regardless of who raise her, the fact that I was the one to nurtured her made me feel so happy, so content.

Setsura, you made my life fulfilling.

I'm sorry.

"You were always worth it, Setsura. All the pain I went through, all the tortures, all the battles, my sacrifices, you made them all worth it. You grew up to be a wonderful girl and you will become a magnificent woman someday…" This sacrifice of mine assured me of that. "Every day that you were under my care, you made my life worth living. From our training sessions to our outings, I had a lot of fun with you. You made my life so enjoyable." I squeeze her shoulders weakly before collapsing.

She caught me and held me in her arms; fresh tears started falling from her eyes.

"My only regret was that I wasn't able to care and love for you properly." I whispered to her, my grasp in life slowly slipping away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it took me awhile to love you. I'm sorry that I did not give you the love that you deserve. I'm sorry for failing to see what your mother did to you until it was too late. Setsura, my beautiful Setsura, you were always there for me, you were there at my lowest, you were there at my highest. You shared my joy, you shared my pain. You were there whenever I cried; you were there whenever I laughed. Thank you Setsura, thank you, and I love you Setsura, I love you and I'm sorry."

"Setsura, my dear Setsura, raising you was the greatest honor that I could ever have. Live, be strong, grow even more beautiful. You never disappointed me before, you always surpass my expectation. I am so proud of you and I am incredibly honored that I was the one to raise you. You are my pride Setsura, I'm sorry that you couldn't be my life."

I smiled sadly at this as I embrace her one last time, her scent feeling me with wonder. "I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura." I admitted before losing all the energy I have left in my body.

Those were my last words to her as my eyes close for the very last time.

**(Setsura POV)**

"I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."

My brother said as his entire body went limb.

I froze as my brother died in my arms, his last words ringing in my ear.

"No, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOT LIKE THIS, NOT LIKE THIS!" I look at the lifeless body of my Oniisama in horror and grief. "NO, ONIISAMA, YOU CAN'T DIE, YOU JUST CAN'T. I STILL NEED YOU!" I shouted as I proceeded to move my brother out of his personal gallery.

I feel very exhausted; every move that I made caused my body to ache in pain, every step that I took was quickly emptying my reserves, both my magic reserves and physical endurance. I just went through a very strenuous and life changing surgery and my body has yet to recover, my body still feels heavy and exhausted, each step that I took felt like I am crossing a ravine…..

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

But I will not falter; my Oniisama went through several hells for me to have a life. He even gave me his life, his LIFE!

He gave me his life, he sacrifice his own life so that I can live.

It's time for me to return the favor, it's the least I can do.

I stole a glance at my deceased brother. Even through death, he was still strong. He died standing up, with a beautiful smile on his face; his expression not showing the pain that he went through in his life.

I smiled at this as I redoubled my effort.

Magic, my brother taught me that magic is not just a scientific and technological phenomenon. Magic is also the will of a magician. My Oniisama taught me that magic would do anything it user wants it to do, as long as the magicians wills it.

My Oniisama calls me the most talented magician of this generation.

I am capable of performing magic that impress my Oniisama and awed his friends, all of them infamous magicians in their own right.

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

My Oniisama taught me many things that would allow me to do many amazing things with magic.

My Oniisama always tells me that whenever I use magic, I must display a strong will.

Magic and will, two things that will always come hand in hand.

And right now, I will use my magic to revive my brother because that is what I want, I am going to use my strong-will to fuel my magic and I am going to resurrect my brother.

I know this is impossible but I do not care. My brother had done the impossible before, many times in his life. I am his sister, I was raised by him. I can also do the impossible.

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

I can, I will defeat death, if it is the only way for me to have him back.

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

I didn't know how long it took me but I finally half-carried, half-dragged my Oniisama and myself out of the estate, and I continued until we were in the middle of the forest that surrounded Oniisama's estate.

This distance is enough for me to not damage Oniisama's estate.

I know the nature of my magic; I know what I am capable of with my magic.

With Oniisama's blood, not the Orimura blood, but Oniisama's and the magic that my mother left me, I can save him.

I can beat death because my Oniisama is on the line.

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

How could I lose?

I refuse to lose?

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

I gently laid my Oniisama's lifeless body to the ground before hovering over him

My breathing was shallow, very shallow and I am barely conscious, I am fighting to stay conscious in fact.

My body was still exhausted to the point that I am in the verge of collapsing.

But my magic is strong, unwavering. How could it not? My Oniisama finally solved my only weakness.

I cannot fail him, not now, not ever.

"_I would have wanted you to be my life, Setsura."_

I lean down, our lips inches apart.

"Don't leave me, I still need you." I was able to say before I captured the lips of my Oniisama before activating both the Orimura Magic and mother's Decomposition Magic.

And before I knew it, everything became white.

_**(Ichika POV)**_

Strange,

Death felt very strange!

I was swimming in a sea of darkness. I thought dying would feel cold. I thought that once I die, I would experience coldness beyond anything Chifuyu-nee's Freezing-type and/or Ice-type magic is ever capable of.

Yet, I did not feel cold, contrary, I felt very warm, warmer than I had ever felt in my life.

Strange, very strange!

Also, I died, my life ended, shouldn't I feel, I don't know, sad, mortified, even angry, and yet, I felt happy, warm, satisfied even.

I wonder why.

I know that I practically signed my own death sentence when I battled all ten Shoguns in a Ten-on-One dance, I gave my life willingly when I transplanted the majority of my organs into my half-sister, I died in Setsura's arms.

I'm dead but I don't feel like it.

Instead of feeling dead, I felt alive, very alive, more alive compare to the times when I was still among the living.

I find this strange and depressing, but I also felt a sense of endearment.

Wow, that's a depressing thought.

Yet, I don't care. I feel happy, very happy in death, yet I have the desire to suddenly want to embrace Setsura in my arms.

Something that would never happen again because I am dead and this darkness is the proof of it! I knew that there was no heaven or hell, just darkness, a never-ending darkness where I would spend eternity in.

Well, it's fitting for me considering my many sins when I was still alive.

Living in pitch black darkness for eternity won't be that bad. God knows I've experience worst.

Then, suddenly, I saw something glimmering just above me. It was a star…no…a diamond shape like a star. It was a pure white diamond and it was of high quality.

I extended my arm and grabbed the star.

And darkness disappeared and was replace with the most dazzling and mesmerizing light.

_**(Setsura POV)**_

Mother, regardless of what other people say about you, I love you.

I love you Mama, even though you left me and Oniisama a lot of things to contend with, I still love you.

And thank you for the wonderful gift that you left me, Mama.

I think I understand now why you left me your prize Magic.

[Decomposition-type Magic], according to mother, is a very basic and common magic, yet it is also a cruel, complex, and volatile magic. [Decomposition-type Magic] allows the user to breakdown everything to anything to its most basic substance.

[Decomposition-type Magic] allows me to treat everything as psion. With this magic, I am able to disassemble not just Magic Sequences, but Activation Sequences as well.

Identify the design, decompose the design.

As long as it's an object, I could translate the physical object into signals, and then rewrite or erase the base design at my leisure.

If it was an Information Body, then I could directly disassemble the design.

This was one of the most difficult magic imaginable, able to directly interfere with the design information.

And it was only because of Oniiisama's teachings, tutelage and hard work that I am able to do something this complex and advance so easily.

At the moment, I am using [Decomposition-type Magic] in tandem with my [Mirror-type Magic].

I am using one of my mama's signature spell, [Material Burst], a spell that made my mother a walking atomic bomb in her days as a soldier.

[Material Burst] is the spell that decomposes matter into energy. The matter is converted into energy so fast that it will disperse an explosion that would decimate anything.

This is a dangerous spell because matter is made out of a lot of energy.

For example, a water droplet, 50 milligram worth of matter is capable of unleashing 1 kiloton of TNT worth of energy, and 1 kilogram of matter is equivalent to 20 megaton of TNT of energy.

According to Oniisama, my mother decimated and leveled a lot of cities with this spell alone.

I am not using [Material Burst] the same way Mama used to use it. There will be a time and place for that.

No, I am using [Material Burst] in a way that the dispersion of energy during the decomposition will not result into an explosion. I am using [Material Burst] in such a way that the speed of the released of energy is manageable enough for me to manipulate it with [Mirror Magic], with my [Luminous Illuminate].

I am using [Mirror-Type Magic] to change the state of the energy that is being disperse from the decompose matter. From pure energy to [Blaze Luminous] to my psion energy to Oniisama's psion energy, I converted pure energy into three states, something that I have never done before, something that I must accomplish for the sake of reviving Oniisama.

It is impossible to ingest one's psion into somebody else's body because the psion signature varies among magicians. Every Magician has a different psion signature and if a foreign psion is injected into a magician's body, well, let's just say Oniisama did not depend on his [Blood-type Magic] too much in the closing years of the Asian War.

The only reason I was able to properly and perfectly convert my psion to Oniisama's psion is because of our bond. The one thing that I have that his full-blooded, thankless, sisters did not have is the pleasure of knowing Oniisama's magic.

I have been train by Oniisama, I have been exposed to his magical aura, I have been saturated with his magic to the point that I know his psion signature by heart.

That alone allows me to convert my psion into his psion flawlessly and perfectly.

Now, the only way for me to inject my psion that I converted to Oniisama's psion into Oniisama's body is via kiss (insert blush here, don't look at me). Because of Oniisama's many battles, his magic developed an instinctual defense mechanism against magical attacks that damages the body discreetly. Also, Oniisama being an Anti-mage had developed quite a magic resistance together with his excellent mental barriers.

A kiss is the only way for me to transfer the psion into his body.

I felt kind of disgusted kissing my Oniisama. Not because he is my brother, I love my Oniisama more than life itself and it has been my dream to kiss him. It is just that I felt dirty kissing him without his consent.

I am not that grimy slut that broke my Oniisama's heart. I despised her; I loathe her for taking advantage of Oniisama's kindness and love.

One day, I am going to cut her to ribbons.

My train of thoughts ended when I broke the kiss to catch my breath and then took note of my surroundings.

Everything around me was white! White colored energy encapsulated me and my brother and I noticed that the energy was being absorbed into my body.

I've never felt so powerful in my life.

But the energy around me isn't for me; it is for reviving my Oniisama.

"I was enjoying that kiss you know."

My heart, the heart that my Oniisama gave me, soars at the sound of the most beautiful alto voice.

I looked down and I smiled at the sight of my Oniisama's eyes.

Although the coloring of his eyes change from brown to red, they resembled the most immaculate, dark rubies I have ever seen, but that doesn't matter.

What matters was the fact that he had open his eyes, and instead of having a broken, defeated, and lifeless expression in his eyes, his eyes were now shining with life, something that truly and greatly satisfied me.

Those wondrous eyes are back.

Eyes filled with love…Eyes filled with passion…Eye filled with power…Eyes filled with genius never before seen… The unbreakable eyes of my Oniisama, they are back and they look even more beautiful, even more vibrant.

Oniisama opened his mouth and spoke, it was barely audible but I could hear it very clearly.

"_You want me to live!?"_

I smiled before nodding; I am not even attempting to hide the tears of joy that was falling from my eyes. "Yes, I want you to live, I need you to live." I exclaimed softly as he slowly raised his arms and his hands suddenly started caressing my hair.

I trembled at the feeling of those hands. The bearer of those hands have defeated countless warriors, destroyed many armies, yet they felt very gentle.

I love the way Oniisama touches me, so gentle, so relaxing, so pure, no lewd and/or malicious intent.

If we are not siblings, I would love to have him as a lover.

In fact, who gives a damn if we are siblings?

We are a man and a woman first after all.

My musing was interrupted when Oniisama's hand caresses my cheeks, and I vaguely notice that the white light that surrounded me and Oniisama suddenly developed red outlines.

I smiled at this as I felt out power intertwining with each other in perfect harmony.

I looked at him and I felt relief when the incision that he made finally close, leaving a scar.

"Thank you," My brother told me with a sincere and sweet tone as white and red energy dance around us in perfect harmony. "For saving me from death…and from myself."

"I should say the same as well…"

Oniisama smiled at me before pulling me closer. Suddenly there is no space between us and I can feel his lips on mine. He kisses me softly, and slowly, but I can feel the eagerness behind them.

This is the kiss that I always wanted! A kiss that Oniisama initiated, a kiss with his content, a kiss filled with love and passion.

I did not hesitate and immediately returned the kiss with as much emotions as my Oniisama was giving me. I want more too. I want to feel more of his delightful warmth on my mouth and more of the pleasure that sparks just under my skin. I move my hands and place one on his shoulder and the other on the back of his head. I press down with my hand and up with my lips. The result is an even deeper kiss and the loss of all sense except radiant joy. Fireworks are going off in my head and all my nerves are humming in contentment.

I am an eleven year old girl, and this is my first kiss (the kiss that I gave my Oniisama to revive him doesn't count for obvious reason) but even I know that is not just an innocent little kiss, these are hungry kisses. The years of pent up emotions and the need to express my love for the man that gave everything to me, the years of pain my Oniisama endured, everything culminating into this kiss.

And as we kiss and shared our passion, I cannot help but feel that I am in heaven.

_**(Scene Change)(Shinonono Ryuuin POV)**_

"Ryuuin-sensei, so good of you to visit." Ichika greeted me with a friendly tone as I approached his bedding chambers.

I was very surprise; I thought that he went through with his plans. The stunt that he pulled two weeks ago was the indication that he went through with his plans.

My daughter, Tabane, is still nursing the wounds that she received from him.

Although, I was quite glad that he is alive. I like Setsura-chan, she spent roughly four months in my dojo and I really gotten to know her quite well through the years. She is quite an endearing girl, a nice girl that would become a phenomenal woman.

Unfortunately though, fate has been cruel to her

This may be cruel, but I am glad that Ichika allowed Setsura to die. Ichika has a long, fulfilling life ahead of him. He has a promising future and it would be a pity for him to forfeit it because of an obligation.

Also, Setsura's life would be torture with the knowledge that her beloved brother killed himself for her sake. That alone would kill her inside.

I entered his bedding chambers and I almost stumbled at the sight before me.

Ichika was in his room, but he wasn't alone. In his arms was Setsura, alive and well and that alone was shocking. Setsura was sleeping peacefully, hear head resting on Ichika's chest while he played with her hair tenderly and lovingly.

Last I heard from Ichika and last I check on Setsura's condition, neither would live while the other survives but before me right now, both Ichika and Setsura are alive, identical smiles plastered on their faces.

They are both in the same bed, something that is new for me because as far as I can remember, Ichika never slept in the same bed as Setsura before. True, Ichika would lie down on a bed with her, but he will never stay for long.

I can tell that they slept together because of Setsura's head resting on his chest and I also, by the look in Ichika's face, I could tell that he had just woken up.

What's strange about this was the fact that Ichika shared his bed with Setsura. Last I check, Ichika only shared his bed with his twin, when they were young and close, and Chifuyu, I am under oath to not speak my personal feelings about that and I do not want to face Ichika in a straight out fight.

Also, I took note of their expression. Both of them have a blissful and please expression, and the look in Ichika's eyes was unsettling.

No matter how much a brother loves his siblings, a brother must never, should never look at his sister with that much love in his eyes.

This bothers me slightly because Ichika was now looking at Setsura the same way he looks at Chifuyu…

No, there was a difference. Yes, Ichika was looking at Setsura with eyes filled with love, the same amount of love he has in his eyes whenever he looks at Chifuyu, but there was another emotion in those eyes that wasn't there whenever he looks at Chifuyu.

That emotion was something akin to passion.

Ichika admires Chifuyu. Ichika idolizes Chifuyu. Ichika adores Chifuyu. Ichika loves Chifuyu.

Even after Chifuyu broke his heart, he never stops loving her.

With that said, he never, ever looked at Chifuyu with any amount of passion in his eyes.

But now, in front of me, Ichika was looking at Setsura with eyes filled with burning passion.

I know how Ichika felt about Setsura. Ichika is fond of her. Ichika feels responsible for her well being. Ichika feels obligated to take care of her.

Ichika never loved her outside of being a sibling or a daughter.

But at the moment, that did not appear to be the true.

The way Ichika was looking at Setsura reminisced the way a man would look at his lover, at his wife.

Only a man deeply and faithfully in love with a woman is capable of looking at someone with that amount of love and passion.

Also, I noticed that Ichika did not even look at me when I entered his personal chambers. His eyes were fixedly on the sleeping form of Setsura. I also noticed that he was holding her in a way that showed another emotion that became foreign for him.

Fear!

Ichika, in his years as a bounty hunter and because of his regeneration, had lost the capacity to fear.

He doesn't know fear; he doesn't show fear, yet the way he was holding Setsura, the protectiveness behind his gentle embrace, tells me that he was frightened, terrified even of losing her.

"Sensei, you should not stare." Ichika told me as he regarded me with a narrowed glare and I almost stumbled.

His brown eyes that were filled with warmth were now replaced by crimson ruby eyes with the same shade as Isane's cold, lilac eyes.

That is disturbing and unnerving in so many levels.

"I apologies," I was able to say while calming my nerves. For some strange reason, those crimson eyes sent shivers up and down my spine.

Also, the power behind those eyes was more intense than before.

Ichika did not reply and merely shifted his gazed to Setsura once again. "Why are you here?" I noticed that his gazed turned from cold to gentle when he shifted his gazed on Setsura.

This is an interesting development.

"I am here to talk." I told him with a serious tone. "You left the country a lot to deal with after the stunt you pulled two weeks ago."

"Civil unrest or Civil war?" So he is already aware of the aftermath of his plan, I must say that I am impress.

"Civil unrest going into Civil War." I answered as Ichika looked at me once again.

"I gave the Shoguns and the Emperor enough evidence to condemn those that will harm the country. The loose ends should have been dealt with already."

"You speak like you don't know about politics." I rebutted.

It only took Ichika a moment to decipher my words as he sighed in resignation. "It seems that I overestimated the Shoguns." I raised my eyebrow at this. "Please leave and wait for me in the common room. I need to freshen up." I nodded before exiting the bedding chambers.

The small conversation I have with him was enough for me to know that Orimura Ichika has change.

How much he changed, I don't know.

I don't think I want to know.

_**(Scene Change) (Ichika POV)**_

"You are leaving again, aren't you?" My Setsura asked me in a sullen tone as I reluctantly remove my arms from her body. The absent of her addictive warmth made me feel empty.

I never noticed before but Setsura was quite warm.

"Somebody has to prevent a country wide Civil War." I answered her as I sat up in the edge of the bed. "Unfortunately, the Shoguns are not adept in preventing something as meager as that." In my four and a half years as a bounty hunter, I prevented at least seven civil wars all throughout Asia.

I cannot believe that the Shoguns are unable to achieve such a simple feat. It is such a disappointment.

"How long will you be gone?" My back was facing her but I could feel her moving.

"Three days, a week at most." I answered her truthfully. Setsura and I are still recovering from the aftermath of our respected resurrection. Setsura is still trying to get used to her new healthy body while I am trying to control my magic.

I know how Setsura resurrected me; it was such an ingenious process and for to be able to pull it off was a testament at how great she would become in the near future.

She defeated death, that feat alone eclipsed every accomplishment that I had done in my career as a bounty hunter.

Still though, after my resurrection, Setsura finally fainted and remained unconscious for at least three days and in that three days, I noticed something strange with my magic. My magic that I wasn't able to develop properly became more volatile, more erratic, and more intense.

Yes, I can still flawlessly perform all my spells but I had to put more effort with the manipulation and control of the spell.

Something happened to my magic during the resurrection process, something that I would have to study in the near future.

"Oniisama…" My train of thoughts was interrupted when Setsura called me and I looked over my shoulder and smiled at her as I look at her.

She truly is very beautiful.

"I'll be back soon, I promise, and after I deal with this problem, we will continue your rehabilitation." I told her while she slowly approaches me.

I close my eyes and relish the feeling of warmth and comfort when Setsura wrapped her arms around me. I don't know why but being embrace by her felt so nice.

Her touch is different from Chifuyu-nee's, so very different, so much better.

"Can I come with you? " Setsura whispered to me meekly. "I don't want to be alone."

"Tempting, but I must veto that idea. Preventing a civil war is both politically and militaristically complex." To prevent a civil war, one must compromise with the two opposing sides as well as appease the military. Or plan B, wipe out the opposing faction.

"I won't be in your way." She defended herself and all I could was to pat her on the head.

"I know, believe me, I know, but I can't risk you, not now that I am finally realizing how precious you are too me, how much I need you." I told her and for once since I started being a bounty hunter, I felt fear. Fear of losing the one person who loves me unconditionally.

"I don't want to be separated from you." She told me with a voice that made my new heart skip a beat.

She has such a beautiful voice.

"Then I will end this in two days and then I will return by your side." Preventing a Civil War in two days would probably be a new record for me.

"And also," I shifted my head before leaning towards her to capture her lips.

Kissing her was probably the most heavenly feeling I have ever experience in my life. She tasted like the sweetest wine that I have ever tasted in my life, sweetness that cannot be rivaled by anything. And the kiss itself was enjoyable. Every kiss that we have is filled with so many emotions, emotions that were always absent whenever Chifuyu-nee and I kiss…

I broke the kiss as the thought of Chifuyu-nee flooded my mind.

This is not fair, for me and for Setsura; this is not fair at all.

Why does every time I held Setsura in my arms, why does every time I kiss her, why do I think of her?

Why am I remembering her touch and her kiss whenever I do those acts with Setsura?

"Because she is your first love." Setsura answered me with a tender tone while caressing my cheeks.

"Sorry," My voice was filled with shame.

Setsura deserves someone better than me.

"I'm willing to wait." Setsura told me gently. "I willing to wait until you're over her."

"You don't have to wait long."

At that moment, I made a decision that would affect me more than I could ever imagine.

_**(Scene Change)(Ichika POV)**_

"So let me get this straight." Ryuuin-sensei's voice was filled with disbelief as he massages his temples. "You transplanted most of your organs into her to neutralized the negative side-effect of Shirayuki-hime's decomposition magic, that much I know but you mean to tell me that she was able to bring you back to life by using both the Mirror magic and Decomposition magic in tandem to keep you alive long enough for you to regenerate your organs!?"

"When a magician dies, he will lose his bodily functions first but the magic will always be present in the body. The amount of psion would diminish but there will always be residue. Setsura with the use of Decomposition, converted matter into energy, and with mirror magic, turned the energy into [Blaze Luminous] and from there, turned the [Blaze Luminous] into psion with her signature before converting the psion with my signature that fuel my Regeneration Magic." I smiled a bit as laid a hand on my heart.

"My new life, Setsura gave it to me."

"You gave her a new life as well."

"I merely repaired her body; I did not give her life." I corrected Ryuuin-sensei as I smiled fondly at Setsura. "I am not capable of giving life, my magic does not allow it, but Setsura is truly capable of many feats with her magic."

"You taught her well."

"I cannot teach talent, I cannot teach power, Setsura always have been powerful, a Goddess in the body of a mortal." I chuckled a bit as I remembered the way I raised Setsura. "She was always the epitome of perfection; I merely dusted away the dirt."

"You would make a good father."

"That is the best compliment you have ever given me."

The two of us shared a brief laugh at that before we started discussing business.

"So, what is the situation?" I asked rather curiously, feeling slightly vulnerable considering that I always knew what is happening in the country before I pulled that stunt two weeks ago.

After the resurrection, I was unconscious for a day, I had to gained control of my magic for four days, and I spent the majority of last week teaching Setsura how to use her body (no perversion intended) and bonding with her. I was so busy that I did not even bother to check the state of the country.

"You left quite an expression." Ryuuin-sensei answered grimly. "Some people considers you a monster for doing what you did, some people considers you a hero for attempting to destroy the filth in our country. You may not be interested in this but your reputation is now public knowledge."

"In other words, my reputation as a bounty hunter is revealed so that those I included in that video can save face." You know what so sad, I already know that this would happen. "They are trying to discredit me then?"

"Yes, and that pissed a lot of soldiers in the arm forces. You are quite popular with the war veterans and some generals." I smiled at this. It seems that some people appreciate me. "You seem to be quite well liked by the 57th and 78th battalion."

"57th is a navy fleet while 78th is a military unit that specializes in desert warfare. If memory serves me right, those two battalions had a lot of green horns and weren't expected to survive in the war." And I lead them to many victories, some of them memorable.

"I know you this but the evidence that you provided is questionable because you were the one who gave them to the Emperor. It doesn't matter how legitimate those evidence are, the fact remains that you were the one who gave it to the Emperor and that made those evidence very questionable." Ryuuin-sensei stated and all I could do is brush this off.

I already have a plan to end this but I need one thing. "What house is preventing the Emperor to execute a full blown investigation?"

"The majority of the House of Councilor and a minority of the House of Representatives." He answered me and this baffled me.

"Why? I mean only a few members of upper house and lower house have dirt in their name. They should actually be using this to further their influence and power."

"They cannot handle seeing you as a hero."

"Ah yes, that." I forgot that the parliament frowned upon my vigilantism during the war and I did attack the popular member of the parliament, my father. I can believe that guy is likable.

"I see, and I would guess my father is spearheading this."

"Unfortunately,"

"Give me two days and those who deserve to be in prison would be imprisoned." I told Ryuuin-sensei before sparring him a glance. "But first things first, we need to visit somebody."

"Who, your grandfather, your mother!?" An incredulous expression then graced Ryuuin-sensei's face. "Please tell me you are going to visit your mother. Isane has become more insufferable without you in her life." If he doesn't look so pathetic while he said those words, I would have laughed.

"There will be a time for me to meet my mother for now; I have to talk to the empress."

Ryuuin-sensei was surprised by this. "You know the Emperor's wife."

"Second wife, and yes, I know her. She's the mother of Kurazakura and Shiroshiki and the best Outersystematic-type magician during her time." I answered as I leaned back on my chair. "You and the empress, you two are the only ones who knew of Setsura's existence and pedigree."

Now that surprised Ryuuin-sensei, not that I blame him. He knew better than anyone how hard I kept Setsura's existence a secret from the world.

"You have an excellent mental defense."

"Setsura doesn't, regardless of her telepathy; her mental defense and barriers is not as strong as mine, not strong enough to prevent someone like her to break through her mind and extract information about us." I close my eyes as I remembered the first confrontation I have with the Empress. It was not a pleasant experience.

"She was your mother's teacher." Sensei reminded me before adding something. "I'm surprise that she kept her mouth shut about this."

"She owes me many favors." I told Ryuuin-sense, hoping that he doesn't press any further.

The second wife of the Emperor was the person who taught my mother everything she knew. My mother's sadistic ways, she learned it from her.

For some reason, the Second Empress likes me and sees me as a grandson that she never had and that is the one of the two reasons why I was able to negotiate a deal with her.

The second reason, I am quite useful to her.

The Second Empress met Setsura when I was nine.

The last two years of my Bounty Hunting Career revolves around eliminating those who she deems a threat to the country.

The last three years of my life revolves around assisting her with her many experiments.

Japan is a beautiful and peaceful country, and for it to stay that way, necessary evil must exist.

Mother and the Second Empress are one of those evils.

And I am going to join them.

But not because I love the country, no, that is not my reason.

I am going to become a necessary evil because it is the only way for me to finally give my heart to Setsura without any regrets and hesitation.

It's the only way.

_**(Scene Change)(Ichika POV)**_

"Seeing that you are alive and breathing, can I assume that my granddaughter is dead?"

"Setsura is alive and well." I never understood the Empress' taste as I entered her personal study in the Imperial Castle. Her study room is a traditional Japanese room but there was no design, there was no furniture, the room was devoid of anything, even lights.

The room was completely dark, devoid of any light. The only reason I could see her is because of my spectacular eyesight.

She was sitting behind a curtain, obscuring her from my view yet I could see the outline of her body. She was wearing a kimono, that much I am sure.

"That is very pleasant news. Tell me, did you find an alternative path."

"No, I proceeded with the transplant surgery. I died but Setsura revive me." I smiled a bit as I knelt and bow in front of the Empress of the country, my head touching the wooden surface. I respect her as magician, as an empress, and as a protector of Japan, and I like her for being one of the few that can understand my mother. "She gave me a new life."

"She defeated death for you." I could tell that she read the surface of my mind.

It seems that her technique is still better than Kurazakura's. Kurazakura maybe the more powerful Outersystematic-type magician than her mother, but the Empress is still more skilled than her. Kurazakura was never capable of reading my mind without touching me, unlike her mother, the second wife of the Emperor.

"How romantic, you went through hell for her and she defeated death for you."

"I would feel flatter if you put some emotions in your voice." I replied nonchalantly before sitting up, still kneeling to show my respect. One thing about her was that she is quite an emotionless woman, rarely showing her emotions in front of anyone.

"Yes, I shall work on that." Not bloody likely. She likes me, but not that much too actually put any emotion in her tone of voice. "Why are you here? I would have expected you to stay beside Setsura-chan's side." The Empress inquired me, her tone emotionless but it has an edge in it that tells me to state my business immediately.

"Apparently, there are some loose ends that I have to take care of." I stated as I reached for something behind me.

"Yes, the aftermath of your plans did expose some trash that my husband has yet to dispose of." She replied with a drawled tone, yet, there was slight sense of irritation in her voice.

"Politics is a complex bitch to tame."

"Agreed, but being a vigilante, you are immune to the law."

That translates as: 'Don't get caught, brat'.

"Of course, I'll be discreet." I assured her calmly while trying to prevent her from further invading my mind.

"That is what I like about you. You are very efficient with your kills; quick, fast, and no evidence, unlike Isa-chan who makes such a spectacle whenever she executes her victims." She learned that from you, your highness.

"My mother likes to send messages to her enemies, something that I find very amusing." I answered, defending my loveable mother.

"You are probably the only one who considers your mother loveable."

Get out of my mind, your highness! That is the only warning that you will have from me.

"Now, let's get to the main issue at hand." I adopted a very calm and serious expression when she said this. "I know that you will not visit me just to ask me permission to clean filth, you are better than that. The only reason you visited me today is because you want something from me."

"Perspective as ever, good, I'll be quick and blunt." I then took a small box from my packet before gently sliding the box towards the Empress.

The box disappeared from my view and it only took a moment for her to realize what was inside the box. The tension in the room quickly doubled after a minute.

"Are you serious?"

"How many artificial magicians have we created in the past three years? One dozen, two dozen, three dozen, creating another one will not be hassle." I told her bluntly.

"Why?" There were some emotions in her voice which slightly delighted me. "True, you have been instrumental in my creation of Artificial Magicians for the past three years, the magic-processing device that you make is unrivalled, but you are against this experiment."

"Also, you do not need to be an Artificial Magician, you are strong enough and useful enough as you are right now and I doubt if this processor is a match to your natural calculation ability."

"This is not me wanting to be strong or me wanting to be able to perform other magic outside of my specialty." As far as I am concern, the only magic I need is my [Blood-type Magic] and my [Regeneration-type Magic]. My psion manipulation is also enough for me to be considered an anti-mage. My knowledge in many ancient magic is also extensive enough to cover the weaknesses of my affinities and my Pushion base magic is developing well.

I already have enough in my arsenal to be considered an accomplish magician and I don't have any desire using magic outside of my specialties and affinities.

"This is not me wanting to be stronger. This is me wanting to be selfish for once in my life." I stated calmly.

"Selfish, are you even capable of that?" The Empress as me is a dismissive manner behind her emotionless tone. "You are the most selfless being I know." The Empress added and all I could do was smile bitterly.

"I know but this time, I want to be selfish for my sake and Setsura's." I told the Empress with the pleading tone. "After Setsura revive me, we shared a kiss and it was the best kiss I had in my life. The kiss I shared with her was filled will all the emotions I want in a kiss. After that, I shared my bed with her and I held her tight, I embrace her and she embraces me, and it felt right. For the first time, I felt love in the arms of someone and it felt heavenly." I then looked at the Empress, a bright yet forlorn smile plastered on my face.

"And you know what, in the two weeks that I was with her, we shared more kisses, each sweeter than the last, and we held each other every night, and I relish every single moment of it but you know what, I wasn't able to completely enjoy her embraces and kisses. You know why? Every time we kiss, every time we held each other, a vivid image of Chifuyu-nee comes to my mind. Even though I felt more love with Setsura than the two years I was 'with' Chifuyu-nee, I still can't stop thinking about her whenever I am being affectionate with her…"

"And those lingering feelings prevent you from giving your all to Setsura-chan." The Empress interjected and all I could do is nod in shame.

"It is not fair for her and for me. I want it, she wants it, us being siblings is not a hurdle for us, but the feelings I have for Chifuyu-nee had been the ultimate betrayal to the two of us." I chuckled sadly as I fight the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. I cannot show weakness in front of her. I can show desperation but never weakness, not in front of her.

"So what is being an artificial magician have to do with you being able to completely love Setsura-chan? Like I told you, even you cannot design a magic processor strong enough to surpass your natural calculation ability." The Empress pointed out firmly. "If I make you an Artificial Magician, the benefits will be nonexistence. Yes, you may be able to cast spells outside of your affinities but the casting time would be extremely slow." The Empress added and I could already tell that she is worried that I would handicap myself, which is unlikely because the two of us already perfected the procedure in creating Artificial Magician.

"Did I not tell you, this is not me wanting to be stronger, this is me wanting to give my heart to the one girl who had loved me with all her heart from the get go." I took a deep breath before I stared at her. "Your Magic is Mental Design Interference. Mental Design Interference is a forbidden magic that forcibly alters the area of a person's consciousness. We created many Artificial Magicians because you are able create strong emotions in the limbic system with your Mental Design Interference while I implant a Magic Processing device to increase the magician's Invocation Speed, the scale of the Magic Sequence, and phenomena rewriting ability, thus creating an artificial Magician."

I am confident that she will understand what I want with just that explanation alone.

And after a minute, she spoke. "You want me to remove your emotions?"

"Yes and no. I want you to remove my emotions with one exception." I narrowed my eyes at her as I allowed my magical aura to flare. "My love for Setsura; that in the one emotion I do not want to lose."

"You want me to modify your mind so that the only one you can value is Setsura-chan, am I correct?" The Empress inquired with an interested tone. "Do you know what you are asking me?"

"I know what I am offering." I answered her calmly. "I'm giving you a chance to access my mind. You know how good my mental defense is. You cannot completely read my mind, even your daughter struggles in reading my mind even when she is touching me. The only person who has ever read my mind unhindered is Setsura and that is only because I allowed her access to my mind. I am giving you this chance, this one and only chance, to have full access to my mind. You can discover all my secrets and the secrets that I hold. I even know some secrets that not you or your husband is not aware of and some hidden secrets that the past rulers of this country have."

I could feel a sudden shift in her aura. Good, I have her attention.

Time for me to go for the kill.

"I am also allowing you to modify me." I clutched my fist as I looked at the ground. "I don't care what you do to me. You can make me your puppet, you can make me a monster, I don't care, I don't give a fuck anymore, just as long as I will only love Setsura and Setsura alone in the end, I don't care what happens." I offered her as fiercely as I can.

The silence was deafening after I told her my offer.

After a while, she spoke again.

"You do know that you are selling your soul to the devil."

"You can have my soul. My mind and my spirit already belong to Setsura. I just need your help to give her my heart."

"Love can make us do many crazy things." The Empress commented off handedly.

"Love can make us the most beautiful monster." I replied with a small smile.

The Empress finally relented with my wishes


	2. After the Prologue

**FOR STARTERS…IS〈インフィニット・ストラトス〉(Infinite Stratos) Volume 8 (April 25, 2013). Source, Bakatsuki…..**

**VOLUME 8 OF Infinite Stratos will be out in April 25 2013...And for every update of any of my I.S fics, I will always have this information somewhere in my fic...**

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**Before any of you read this, I was drunk when I wrote the first portion of this fic, and expect something morally wrong yet beautiful…**

**P.S. Yeah, I am a sick freak…AND I WAS TROLLING WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS  
**

**P.S.S. I'VE BEEN WATCHING THE ENGLISH DUB OF INFINITE STRATOS AND I MUST SAY, THE PERSON WHO VOICES Cecilia Alcott is excellent…**

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**_Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Infinite Stratos Style_**

**_CHAPTER 0.55: The King and Queen of the Fifth Generation_**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own IS: Infinite Stratos OR Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei but I own t****his fict****ion and any other OC's in this story **_

_ITALIC: THOUGHTS_

**BOLD: MOVEMENTS**

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The Tokyo Imperial Palace, the home of the Emperor and his family, is very old yet it was so heavily fortified that it can survive a direct hit from an Atomic Bomb. Shirayuki made sure of that in her youth. The Imperial Palace also has many rooms, close to a thousand. The Emperor knows most of the rooms but there were some rooms that the Emperor does not know exist because of their impracticality.

For example, one particular room in the Imperial Palace located underground is a Victorian style bedding chamber. The room was small, roughly fifteen square feet, but it was enough to fit a queen size bed inside of it.

Inside the room were two individuals, the Empress and Orimura Ichika.

The Empress was sitting on the bed and her entire body was covered by a large curtain, which only made her silhouette visible. The Second Empress of Japan was always like this when talking to people outside of her family and Isane, because it allows her to use her magic discreetly.

Ichika on the other hand was standing as far away from the bed as humanly possible.

If anyone who knew him looked at him at the moment, they would instantly notice that he was different. For starters, his eyes that were usually filled with mirth and warmth were now emotionless and cold. His stance that was usually relaxed was rigid, like he was expecting an attack. And his friendly aura disappeared, replace by an aura of death that would make anyone near him shiver in fright.

All in all, The Empress was satisfied for the perfection standing in front of her.

"You were quite ruthless back then, effective, but ruthless." The Empress commented while gazing upon Ichika, who was currently wiping the blood off his hands with a piece of white cloth. "You were everything but ruthless during your career as a Bounty Hunter."

"I thought and planned at least ten scenarios that would produce the ideal outcome. Three of them would involve the participation of Orimura Ichika, two of them would involve the appearance of Sin, three would involve both the appearance of Sin and Orimura Ichika at the same time, and two scenarios that would allow me to keep both my identity in check. I preferred to use those two scenarios. Among those two scenarios, I choose the one that would swiftly eliminate all the loose ends." Ichika explained nonchalantly, not bothered by the blood that stained his hands.

Ichika wasn't even showing a reaction. He wasn't showing regret nor was he grieving, something that was always present in his face whenever he ends a life with his bare hands.

"Did that scenario involved you assassinating at least 5 members of the lower house and 3 members of the upper house?" The Empress asked, her emotionless tone having a hint of amusement.

"The eight I killed are very much replaceable. They are not popular in the parliament and they are quick to disappear in the limelight." Ichika answered calmly while throwing the cloth to the trash disposal located across the room. "Also, those eight were involved in some pretty nasty slave rings and human trafficking."

"Ah yes, I forgot how you _**feel**_ about those two particular crimes." The Empress emphasized the word 'feel' while eyeing Ichika for his reaction.

"Of course, a drop of Japanese blood is quite a waste. 2 out of 10 Japanese born everyday has the possibility to be a magician, which means that we need every single Japanese in the country to give birth to new magicians. It is a potential lost of resources if we allow any of our kin to be ship away to foreign land." Ichika answered calmly and bluntly, but most importantly logically with no traces of anger and/or compassion. In other words, his answer was base on logic, nothing more nothing less. "And if may I add, I made sure that I left no evidence or traces." Ichika assured the Empress, his tone of voice lacking guilt or any other emotion.

His tone was monotone and emotionless.

And that made the Empress smile.

"I expect nothing less coming from you." The Empress complimented, her voice showing a hint of pride.

Ichika simply nodded before narrowing his eyes. "Now, let us discuss the other end of the bargain." Ichika offered, and the Empress shook her head while chuckling.

"You know what I want, for the longest of time since I discovered your occupation as a bounty hunter; you know what I want from you. There is no need to discuss it because you and I both know that you can pull that out at any given time." The Empress stated confidently.

"It will take me three years to produce the unit that would meet your standards, and it would require me to recruit at least three of my acquaintances from overseas, most of them criminals but they would work for me." Ichika started, ignoring the confidence that the Empress had for him.

"Do as you will." The Empress permitted him, knowing that Ichika will not do anything to compromise the country. She made sure of it after all.

And speaking of which…

"Where is that cheerful boy that always smiled and didn't get fazed by the emotional pains life throws at him?" The Empress asked loudly, intending it to be a test.

And like everything Ichika had done in his life, he never disappoints.

"He is dead." Ichika answered passively, his tone and expression, from facial to body, was not showing an iota of emotion. "I am merely the shadow of that boy."

That answer alone was enough to satisfy the Empress.

But still, there is one more thing that the Empress must do to label Ichika as a successful experiment. She must confirm the one thing, the one crucial thing that would truly label Ichika as perfection in her eyes.

"How are you going to explain this to her?" The Empress asked with fake yet subtle curiosity, so subtle that not even Ichika could detect the hidden meaning behind her words.

Ichika let out a very shallow chuckled as he clutched his heart. "I shall cross that bridge when I get there." He answered ruefully, showing the first sign of emotion in their conversation. "But still, I do not regret anything. I love her more than anything now. I value her above everybody else. I am, strangely, satisfied" Ichika stated calmly and passionately, satisfied with the result of his bargain with the Empress.

The Empress smiled in triumph as one of the most important pieces for her plans was set.

It seems that not even the great Orimura Ichika, the strongest child soldier and combat magician of his time can resist her powers.

Or should she say, Ichika did not make an attempt to resist her power. Regardless, the outcome was satisfactory for both parties.

"She won't like this."

"I know." Ichika answered, showing fear but not doubt or regret. "She may hate me for this, she may loath me even. I was already damage goods and I further compromise myself with the decision that I made."

"But you don't regret it?" The Empress inquired with a passive smile.

"I don't, how could I?" Ichika asked, not even looking at the Empress. "I am confident that if I held or kiss Setsura right now, that I would only be thinking of her." Ichika then adopted a very sad look. "I just pray that she would allow me to hold and kiss her again." There was desperateness in his tone that would break the heart of a lesser being.

"Ask her yourself." The Empress stated suddenly as the door behind Ichika slowly opened, which revealed a young girl. The young girl was looking at Ichika with tearful eyes. "She already knows." The Empress informed Ichika offhandedly.

Ichika slowly turned around; his eyes lingered at Setsura for a moment, his eyes suddenly filled with love and sorrow, two emotions that were absent early on, before suddenly glaring venomously at the woman behind him. "You are dead." Ichika snarled as his body emitted a very powerful aura that shook the room, no, to be precise; the entire palace shook as Ichika's power flared uncontrollably, a silhouette of angelic wings appearing behind him as it represents his power and aura.

The Empress smiled wearily at this as she felt the killing intent of the boy directed at her, which is never a good a thing when dealing with the now emotionless boy. The Second wife of the Emperor was quite impressed, very please. The magical aura that Ichika was emitting was three times more volatile compare to the aura that he used to emit, three times more volatile, three times more powerful.

In fact, although she was smiling and internally delighted with the display of power that Ichika was showing, the Empress was afraid for Ichika could kill her with a flick of a finger.

Ichika made himself a legend by killing magicians stronger than him throughout his career.

The Empress conditioned Ichika to never betray the country; she did not condition Ichika to be loyal to her. Out of principles alone, she will never have Ichika's loyalty.

That would be counterproductive for her plans.

Fortunately though, the aura subsided when Setsura approach him and tightly embrace him from behind, her arms wrapped around his enraged frame, effectively calming him down.

Ichika's venomous eyes soften considerably as his body reacted immediately with Setsura's touch. He turned around to face his precious little sister; his arms were quickly wrapped around Setsura's body, pulling her closely to him, holding her tightly yet gently to avoid hurting her, holding her in a way that projected his fears of losing her.

It took Ichika a tenth of a second to return the embrace that Setsura was giving him.

Setsura's heart almost skip a beat at how loving her brother was holding her at the moment and, though she was ashamed of it, she prodded her brother's mind and what she found filled her with joy and sadness.

Her brother was only thinking of her. There were no traces of Chifuyu or Madoka, his thoughts were merely filled of her.

"I shall give both of you privacy." The Empress told them as she vacated the room, leaving the two siblings alone.

"Why did you resort to this!? I could have waited!" Setsura stated, breaking the embrace yet her hands were still gripping her brother arms tightly, afraid to let him go.

She was addicted to her brother's touch.

"That will not be fair to you." Ichika stated as he stared at Setsura, his eyes not leaving hers, his crimson eyes focus on her sapphire blue eyes. Ichika press his forehead onto hers, their lips mere millimeters apart as tears fell from both their eyes.

"This isn't fair for **you**." Setsura said as her hands caress his cheeks. She was trembling, quivering. "You've already sacrificed so much for me." Setsura stated tearfully.

"I haven't sacrificed enough. You gave me what I have always wanted but I was too blind to see it." Ichika exclaimed passionately, his eyes and voice filled with so many emotions that was absent just moments ago.

"This is not what I wanted." Setsura stated meekly as she gazed upon the crimson eyes of her brother, feeling herself hypnotize by them. She was not upset, she was far from upset; she was, in fact, very happy by what her brother did. He forfeited his emotions so that he can fully love her, her, the person who existed because of the sin of their father and her mother; the person that forced him to carry the world on his shoulders.

For her, she did not deserve that kind of love, and it hurt her knowing that her brother was giving it to her.

But Ichika believes otherwise.

"But this is what I wanted." Ichika assured her and the desperateness is his voice bringing more tears to Setsura's eyes. "For the first time, I want to be selfish."

"This is not selfishness." Setsura argued weakly as she quivered at the sincerity in her brother's eyes. "This is you giving me my grandest desires in a silver platter."

Setsura will not lie. She always dreamed, desired to have the affection and love of her brother solely on her. She always wanted her brother to love only her, to care only for her. She dreamed of having her brother hold and kiss only her. She dreamed, every night since puberty struck, making love with him when she is of age. She prayed to every God that she knew to one day have a family with him.

Everything that she had desired in her life was, at the moment, within her grasped, but strangely, it did not give her fulfillment.

Yes, it brought her joy and bliss, but not fulfillment because she feels that she did not earn the love her brother was offering her.

"I merely am returning the favor." Ichika then took her in his arms. "You've gave me what I always wanted from you, who am I to deny you what you want from me?"

Without another word, Ichika raised his arms and placed them on either side of Setsura's head, cradling her face. He pulled her gently to him and guided her lips to his and they met in a passionate kiss filled with emotions that was now only reserve for her.

The kiss was slow and languid. It wasn't rushed nor was it force at all. There was intense passion behind the kiss Ichika gave her, but it wasn't fully released yet.

Ichika was waiting for Setsura's permission to release it.

And that moment, Setsura's heart finally gave in as she kissed back.

Their lips met again and again in a feverish rhythm. He crushed her petite form against his body, as her arms slid around his neck. She removed the needle that held his hair up; freeing his hair, allowing his long hair to flow to his back, which she eagerly delved her fingers into his luscious black hair.

And things escalated after that as the two siblings, lovers continue to kiss until they fell to the single bed in the room.

Their clothes were quickly disregarded as the two validated, vindicated, accentuated their relationship right then and there. They did not say a word as they allowed their actions to be their vows. They knew, at the moment, their passion behind their innocence kiss will lead into a path of no return, the act that they would do next would transcended their relationship from siblings to lovers to something that surpasses siblings and lovers.

And they would enter that path hand in hand.

Ichika's hands removed themselves from his little sister's face and trailed feather-light touches down her back. The brushes made the young girl tremble before her brother, and it elicited shivers and gasped from her. His slender fingers finally rested on Setsura's waist, holding her firmly in place.

Ichika's tongue explored Setsura's mouth gently, exploring it enthusiastically, exploring every detail. He wanted the blueprint of her mouth embedded into his memory; he wanted to memorize every inch of her so that he could properly worship. Setsura surrender to her brother's passion as well as her desires as her moans of pleasure cause vibrations in their kiss, which further increase the intensity of the kiss as well as the pleasure that they were receiving from the kiss.

They stopped kissing momentarily and merely held each other as they try to recover their breathing. In their passionate kiss, the two took note that they were now lying on the bed, with Ichika on top and their clothes currently disregarded on the floor.

Ichika momentarily raised himself to get a quick view of his little sister, and marvel at how beautiful she was. Everything about her was perfection at its finest glory. From her flawless pale skin, her soft and brilliant white hair, her dazed and dazzling sapphire eyes, her flat stomach, her flawless and slender legs and arms, her small yet perky breasts and petite hips.

The number of perfectly symmetrical features in Setsura was overwhelming.

Truly a girl crafted by the Gods, an artwork worthy to be called the pride of the World.

"You're so beautiful." Ichika murmured as he allowed himself to fully admire her Divine beauty before bending down to kiss her lips again. Ichika took in the way she looked. Her face was flushed which merely made her more exotic, and she was warm to the touch, reacting to his touch accordingly. Her long hair covering a small portion of her body, hiding them from his sight, daring him to touch the hidden treasure that they are guarding.

Setsura was reaching up to him, her arms raised like she trying to grasp the treasure that she have wanted since the day she was born. He let her pull him down next to her on the bed.

Setsura felt Ichika's breathing on the left side of her neck, her breath tickling her slight. His head was resting to the left of hers, his left hand caressing her right cheek and his right arm was wrapped around her slim waist under her back.

Setsura couldn't remember being in a more comfortable position in her life.

Setsura's hands were caressing her brother's long hair. When they were free from their bindings, they look so soft, so luscious, and it actually was. With her arms massaging his head and her hands caressing his hair, Setsura could not help but smile in anticipation at what her brother would do next.

She wasn't disappointed as she gasped gleefully as Ichika ran his thumb along the right side of her breast, making the nipple harden. Her breasts size was slight bigger than those her age, and Ichika was utilizing this to the fullest extent as she fondled her breasts, her thumbs rubbing her nipples sensual and slowly, which made the young girl quiver lightly in pleasure. Ichika's head slid deeper into Setsura's neck and she felt him kiss, lick, bite and suck wildly at her slender neck while murmuring, "beautiful" over and over.

Ichika concentrated on Setsura neck, making her breath hitch with every kiss and bite, and causing her to shake with every lick on her delicate neck. As Ichika did this, he couldn't help but remember the way she looked, at how divine she look so he just kept murmuring the word 'beautiful' over and over again after each action. He bit his sister's neck one last time, relishing the delicacy of her skin, making sure that there would be a mark.

Setsura close her eyes as she tried to regulate her breathing as well as fight down the cry pleasure that was threatening to escape her lips.

Ichika stopped for a moment and raised himself, his left knee between her legs and hovered above her, so that he could see his little sister in all of her glory. In his eyes, she was practically glowing, radiant even.

"Can you tell me something?" Ichika requested as he gently grope her breasts, massaging them carefully, which pleasured the young girl before him like nothing else. "Can you tell me you love me?" Ichika pleaded with her, his eyes showing vulnerability that was never there in his life.

Setsura smiled at this while blushing at the intense stare that she was receiving from her beloved brother. She expected this question. She knew that her brother was still reeling from when Chifuyu rejected him, for Chifuyu's inability to say three simple words.

Setsura was not Chifuyu, by all means, she will never be her.

"I love you so much!" Setsura proclaimed loudly and Ichika could only give her a vibrant smile in return.

"I love you too, for the longest time, since we met. For the last five years, I was fooling myself when I merely referred to you as my responsibility."

At that proclamation, Setsura smiled bright enough to light up the entire room, or the world.

The sight of that smile, Ichika could not help but further admire her. Ichika then extended his hand and gently ran his fingers along the sides of her face. Setsura felt entranced by her brother's touch, his fingers running along the lining of her chin then sliding down along her cheekbone. This was Ichika's way of tracing the beauty that he could never capture in the canvas.

He cupped her chin and gently tilted it to his direction before capturing her lips again in a gentle yet loving kiss. He then put his hand on the back of her head to steady her so that he could deepen the kiss further.

Ichika dared to snake his tongue out again, seeking access into her mouth again. He ran his tongue along the side of his sister's lips, his tongue licking her again waiting for her to grant him access to his prize.  
After a few seconds, Setsura parted her lips accepting his offer. She gently started to kiss her brother back, then soon with a little more intensity, her mouth sucking and licking his lips as he did to her. Finally the young girl brought her arms around her brother's waist, holding him tight against her body.

In minutes both brother and sister's tongues danced feverishly in each other's mouths. Both sucking... licking...tasting each other's saliva, and each finding the taste quite delicious. Ichika ran his fingers through his sister's white hair as she ran her hands through his.

"Oniisama..." Setsura purred, seconds later when they broke off their exchange. His tongue licked along the sides of her cheek and continuing to move down her sleek neck. Setsura tilted her head back while her brother proceeded with his kisses.

As Ichika kissed her sleek neck with hunger, causing each of Setsura's break intakes to be heavier, Setsura clutched onto him hard, as if she were afraid to be robbed of the joyous feeling.

Ichika then diverted his attention on Setsura's ear and nibble on it while his hands found their way to her breasts, groping them gently causing the young girl to squirm in her brother's touch, opening her mouth to release a scream of ecstasy, her eyes in a daze as her brother fulfilled her dearest desire.

With her bright blue eyes, she lovely gazed up to her brother, the brother that has been giving her everything she wanted in her life, a crooked smile crossed her lips. She brushed her leg along his thigh. A look of hunger dwelled in her stare. She was almost beckoning him to be one with her.

Ichika looked at her for a second, stopping his nibbling on her ear as he whispered some words to her. "I don't want to force you into something I know you're not ready to do."

Setsura smiled at this. It was typical of her brother to care for her more than his own pleasure. Setsura extended her arms and wrapped it around her brother before pulling him to another heated kiss. The kiss was quick, a chaste one as Setsura leaned toward her brother's ear.

"As long as it's with you, I'll always be ready." Setsura whispered lovingly.

Ichika gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly, battling with himself. He wanted this, and she also wanted this as well, so what is stopping him from giving her what she wanted?

An image of another woman appeared in his mind and quickly dissappeared.

Setsura, reading her brother's mind, pulled him down for another gentle kiss. At first it started out slow, Ichika was forcing himself to go slow, to take things slowly. But then Setsura took the lead, changed the pace by kissing him passionately, almost ravaging, their sweat covered, and naked bodies, pressing onto each other. Ichika shivered in surprised as suddenly, his instincts took over. He grabbed her wrists and held it tightly over hear head while still kissing her, their chest pressing on each other. He broke off the kiss and started trailing burning kisses on her jawline down to her neck.

"Surrender to me." Setsura whispered lustfully into his ear as she felt heat spread throughout her body, especially in her privates. She could feel wetness in her crotch that she had never felt before.

Ichika moaned deeply into her neck and gave a small nod of compliance.

In a matter of seconds both brother and sister were tangled with each other's bodies. Ichika licking and sucking on his sister's breasts, running his tongue along her nipples, his tongue circling around her pale aureoles and licking her teat. He then closed his mouth around one of her nipples and sucked on it hard.

Setsura's whimpering cries echoed through the room as she was enjoying her brother's attention to her breasts, her hands place firmly on the back of his head as she assisted him in feasting on her ample flesh. She moaned into his ear before bringing her brother's lips to hers again as they fiercely French kissed each another, their tongues dueling for supremacy.

Ichika won as he wrapped his tongue on hers and sucked on it as her grinded his body against his sister, his harden manhood nudging against her pelvis. Setsura knew what he wanted, and despite the consequences and all the taboos, regardless of their age, or whether or not she was ready or not, she was going to let him have it. Setsura will not deny her brother his pleasure nor will she deny herself of what she wanted.

Setsura callously spread her legs open as she exposed her dripping wet sex to her brother. This was her way of completely offering herself to her beloved brother.

Ichika took a moment to admire his sister's beauty and pureness, the pureness that she was offering him before gingerly proceeding.

Ichika diverted his attention back to Setsura's breasts. His little sister was still young, yet her breasts filled his hand perfectly, not too small, but not gigantically large either. He leaned toward her left nipple and drew it into his mouth, sucking lightly. His tongue swirled around the areola and she gave a gasp and a moan to the experience. Not wanting to neglect the other, he switched breasts. His thumb ran along her hardened nipple, pinching and massaging it expertly.

Ichika kissed and licked to the valley of Setsura's chest as his fingers began a lazy descent to her womanhood. He skipped over her belly button and went further down to her wet sex. He used his thumb to rub her clitoris and pinched it slightly, earning him a gasp.

She was already so wet, drench in her essence.

He slid in his middle finger slowly so she could adjust to the feeling. She was a virgin, and hence, she was so tight. He began to pump his finger in and out of her. Setsura moaned long and soft. She put her hand on his shoulder and spread her legs even further apart, encouraging him to continue. He gently added in another finger and worked it in and out. By now, Setsura was moaning with every insert, her body was trembling in an almost unhealthy manner, which Ichika took as a sign that she was ready for another finger. He added another long finger and thrust inside Setsura's entrance, pumping faster and faster until his fingers were covered with her fluids.

At the assault of her sacred place, Setsura stared at her brother with a vulnerable yet yearning expression as she begged her brother to take the one thing that she could offer him, the only thing that she could offer him that is of value to her that he did not gave her.

Ichika looked at her eyes as he leaned towards her before placing a strong kiss on her lips. As he was savoring the lustful kiss with his sister, he slowly positioned his manhood on the entrance of his lover's cunt.

When the lustful kiss ended, the two stared at each, their eyes filled with so many emotions as they both shared a smile.

Accepting her approval, Ichika gently and carefully lunged himself forward piercing her womanhood with his throbbing manhood inch by inch, breaking her hymen in an almost torturous manner. She gasped loudly, eyes shut tightly, her body frozen in pain. Her fingernails digging into his back to mask her pain as she felt her brother's manhood entering her.

In a matter of seconds, Ichika finally sheathed his manhood completely into Setsura's wet sex, and at that moment, both brother and sister became one.

The moment Ichika fully entered her, he felt himself to be in heaven. His sister felt so good and just by entering, he almost climax that instant but he regained some of his control. He knew he wanted this feeling, this great feeling to last and more importantly, this wasn't about his pleasure, it is about his sister's pleasure.

When Ichika fully deflowered her, he did not move as he gave her time to adjust to his length and new the intrusion in her body. Ichika lovingly kiss the tears of pain that were flowing from her eyes, which Setsura was thankful for.

It took Setsura a quarter of an hour before motion for her brother to move, which he did.

At the tender age of 11, Setsura was able to give her brother something that is, for Ichika, equal to what her brother lost. At this date, Setsura became a woman.

This was the day they first made love.

Ichika knew his little sister's body, the moment he entered her, he knew, by instincts alone how she wanted her first time to be like.

Gripping her shoulders lightly, he pulled back until only the tip was left before pushing his entire length back in.

Setsura close her eyes as she cherished the feeling of her brother making love for the first time. Having waited until the pain subsided, there was nothing but pleasure hitting her over and over again. The feel of his hot flesh inside of her own equally hot tunnel was exquisite and mind-numbing. She could feel the blood pumping through his shaft, because she could feel him rubbing against every millimeter of her inner tunnel.

"Ah!" She cried out, her toes curling; arms and legs holding onto her lover tightly, like she did not have any intention of letting go.

His slow, deep strokes touched her everywhere, and she couldn't help but squeal in delight. She let loose another cry of pleasure when she felt something moist surround her stiff nipples. Giving the protruding bud one last pull with his teeth, he switched to the other, earning more moans and squeals. All the while, he was thrusting gently into his sister, stoking a fire that was soon to explode into an inferno.

'_Oniisama!'_ The numerous surge of pleasure from her brother's assault on her breasts proved almost too much, but she was able to control her release, for her desire to be one with her brother overridden her desire for release.

Ichika was in awe of the woman beneath him. This experience alone, his first time with Setsura eclipsed his time together with Chifuyu.

_**(It is a sad, sad day when a woman in her twenties is trumped by an eleven year old girl in sex)**_

Unable to control herself, and stay calm anymore, Setsura grabbed the back of Ichika's head, and devoured his lips with hers.

Ichika took this as a signal for him to increase his pace.

His slow pace gradually build up speed, and in no time, he was pumping his meat into his sister like there was no tomorrow.

Setsura cried loudly as her brother continued to piston in and out of her cunt. Ichika continued to plow deeper and deeper into her, his manhood exploring every inch of her. He wanted to give his little sister everything he had.

Setsura knew she couldn't take this much longer. She knew that she was going to cum. And she was going to cum hard.

And she did not have to wait long as she felt her inner walls clamping onto her brother's shaft tightly as she let loose a cry of pure ecstasy as she orgasms for the first time.

Ichika could feel the dripping wetness of his sister's cum surrounding his cock. He tried to ignore the sensation, but he could feel he was close too. Ichika sped up his thrusts into his sister.

Setsura threw her head back as she opened her mouth and moan loudly while clamping her legs around her brother's waist. She wanted every last drop from her brother to be inside of her.

"SETSURA!" He shouted as he felt his manhood quiver. He then unleashed his warm incestual seed into her womb. After a few seconds he dropped back onto the bed to catch his breath.

The two siblings looked held each other's hand while they stared lovingly at each other. It was strange, but throughout their intercourse, they did not lose eye contact, and through their eye contact, they were able to convey what they wanted in their love making.

As they stare in each other's eyes, they both smile as Ichika hovered over his little sister again and once again entered her for the next round.

In a matter of seconds, Setsura's cries and moans of pleasure and ecstasy once again echoed in the room, and it continued to echo until they were both sated.

_**(Scene Change)**_

At the sound of the passionate love making that was taking place in the room that she vacated, the Empress could not help but smile in victory.

"I love it when a plan comes together." The Empress whispered under her breath as she cast a spell that would contain the sound of the new couples love making into the room before walking away.

True, there is something morally wrong with the situation at hand. Ordinary people will consider a twelve year boy making love with his eleven year old sister sick and disgusting but, for the preservation of the country that she loves so much, immoral acts like that can be ignored, forgiven and accepted.

The Empress could not help but chuckle mirthlessly at the thought of her plans finally coming to fruition, and it was ahead of schedule, five years ahead of schedule to be precise.

To explain the Empress' plan, let us elaborate the five generations of magic of the great Nation of Japan.

The First Generation was the generation of trials and errors as magic was not yet prominent or well develop, far from today's generation. In the first generation, Magicians were labeled as psychics or espers as the most basic magic today were considered the highest magic possible during the First generation. Magicians were hidden from public, trained in secret, enhance if necessary, experimented when required, and disposed off if defective.

Japan also started breeding magicians via having exceptional magicians impregnate at least two to five women.

The result of the first generation proved to be the stepping stone for the greatness of the next generation of Magicians, the second generation.

The Era of Magicians started the same time Japan's Second Generation of Magic began.

The Second Generation focuses on the development and the categorization of magic as the development of different magic combats and the classification of the different types of magic. This generation utilizes ancient magic, with modern magic still an ongoing theory.

Japan's second generation was arguably the strongest era. The magicians produce during the second generation were the best magicians that the country had ever produced even to this day. The two most prominent magicians of the second generation were Orimura Ichigo, and the current Emperor of Japan, Ryuuya. The two of them alone were, and still is, the equivalent of an entire country's military might.

Japan became a superpower, the strongest nation in Asia during this generation as both Ichigo and Ryuuya led Japan to greatness. They paved an ocean of blood to engrave the military might of Japan to the world.

The Third Generation focuses on the transition from using talismans and staffs to using CADs. This generation is what started the fusion of technology and magic. This generation marks the dawn of magic being enhance and strengthen with technology. In this generation, skills were discovered, developed, proven, and practiced to the point that psion count doesn't anymore equate to an elite magician.

In this generation, the world wide standardization ranking magicians was developed, proven, and then executed.

Japan's third generation magicians were not as strong as the second generation, but they were more skillful compare to the last generation. The two most prominent magicians in this generation were Ayanami Isane, now known as Orimura Isane, and popularly known as Isane the Devil, and lastly, the late great Shirayuki, the White Pearl. These two magicians have very different styles and magic, and they also loathed each other (secretly, every girl hates each other), but they were the best in their generation, and they also equaled the Two Dragons in terms of Combat Prowess, surpassing them in skill but they were inferior in terms of power.

The Fourth Generation is different from the past three generations for this generation focuses more on the development of technology in support of magic. The difference in this generation when compare to the last three generations, especially the third, is the utilization of technology in magic.

In the previous generation, more specifically the third generation, the technology supports the magician. Technology enhances the skills of the magician.

In this generation, it's backwards. The Magician supports the technology. Skills that the magician should have can be covered and/or compensate with a high-end CAD, in other words, technology substitutes crucial skills of a magician, a skill that the magician should have and could use even without the help of technology.

Although the development of Magic skills took a decline in this generation, this generation compensate with the advancement of technology related to Magic.

In this generation, a battle can be determined at how advanced or how well tuned a CAD is.

Japan's fourth generation did not produce any magicians that can surpass the great magicians produced in the two previous generations, but this generation did produce a number of exceptional magicians. Zangetsu, the Heaven Chain; Chifuyu, the Demonic Ice Queen; Kurazakura, the Untouchable Queen; Shiroshiki, the White Storm; Doctor Jackal, Vladilena; Zephyrs, the Universal Shooter; 'Magneto' Schwarzer; the Killer Rabbit, Tabane; Quick Draw, Raphael; ShenLong, the Elemental Fist to name a few.

The Empress considered the fourth generation a failure. True, the fourth generation produced a lot of exception and great magicians compare to the previous generations, but none of them were able to surpass the greats that the previous generations produce. Also, average in the pass two generations are considered elite in the fourth generation.

A generation can only be considered great if and only if it produces somebody that can surpass the best of the previous generation. As far as the Empress could tell, the ten strongest magicians in this generation cannot even touch Isane in combat. Zangetsu has the potential to fight Isane in an equal footing, but the Devil would triumph in that battle in the end.

Still, even though the Fourth Generation is a disappointment, it is still acceptable.

The Fourth Generation is about to end, and Japan's next production will belong to the Fifth Generation.

Basing it in her earliest observation, the Empress deduced that the Fourth Generation is disappointing but at least passable, the next generation would simply suck, no more no less.

It is common knowledge that War is evil, but War will always result to evolution do to man's determination to live, to triumph, to survive, to prove that they are better than the opposition, and of course conquest. Since the Second Generation, Japan has been at war and that resulted in the production of elite magicians.

War can bring out the best in any country, in anyone in particular.

Japan is the strongest country in Asia when it comes to military might because of its high quality magicians and high-end technology, and because of that, Japan did not suffer from World War Three and the Great Asian War, and that is a bad thing and a good thing.

It's a good thing because the children did not suffer or experience war.

It's a bad thing because the children that would define and lead Japan's next generation of Magicians were not aware or inform at how cruel the world is or the challenges that they will face in the future.

In the last three generations, the youths were aware that there is war going on outside the country and they were prepared to fight to protect their country. In the Fifth Generation, the majority of the youths were not aware that there is a conflict happening outside of their country.

In the previous generations, magicians were being nurtured at the age of four, with some being deployed in the battlefield at the age of six, five if they were talented enough. In the Fifth Generation, only noble clans would _**consider, **_even_** consider**_ teaching their children about magic, much less how to use magic properly or how to fight with magic. Also, magicians are nurtured at age twelve, middle school, and that is just introduction, the proper training will start in high school

In the previous generations, the youth viewed magic as a tool that is use to protect the country, a tool that should be developed to the best of their ability. In the Fifth generation, the youth viewed magic as a trend, as something similar to a fashion stament, something that should be achieve so that your peers will refer to you as somebody 'cool'.

The very thought of the Fifth Generations of magicians was enough to give the Empress a nightmare.

The difference between the Empress and her husband is that the Emperor is determined to achieve peace; the Empress is determined to maintain the peace.

The Emperor will only see the present, the Empress sees the future.

And the future sucks!

It was supposed to be, but that change because of one boy. The existence of one boy can salvage the Fifth Generation if guided correctly.

The name of that boy is Orimura Ichika.

To understand his significance, we need to elaborate more on his mother, Orimura Isane.

Orimura Isane, formerly known as Ayanami Isane, popularly known as Isane the Devil, was trained by the Second Empress, and she was proud of Isane and it filled her with pride at how strong and skilled Isane became under her tutelage.

Isane is everything a soldier should be; she is the epitome of the ideal warrior. Strong, powerful, cunning, and quick witted, a combat genius among warriors, resourceful, a natural tactician and strategist, to name a few of her attributes as a soldier. She has everything a warrior should have to be great in spades.

Orimura Isane is the greatest soldier Japan had ever produced in its long history.

But regardless of everything, she has one glaring fault.

Orimura Isane does not have morals, or ethics, or a conscience, or a heart. She is incapable of feeling compassion or mercy, whether they be allies or enemies, she will utterly annihilate them.

In words that can be easily understood, she's evil, pure demonic evil compress in the body of a very beautiful woman.

Still, Isane could and would respect her enemies, but that doesn't actually help her enemies because she would still kill them in the most brutal way possible.

Isane is unpredictable, she would follow orders but she would follow it her way. Nobody can accuse her of insubordination or have her court martial because she is the best at what she does. Isane is trouble, but she is a person that is better as an ally than an enemy.

That's the reason why her actions are tolerated, regardless of how twisted they are.

There is only one sure way to control Isane, and that is to provide her with wars and battles to fight. Isane thrive in wars and enjoys battles. Provide her with wars and battles, she would comply.

Isane is married to Orimura Kurei, which made her part of the Orimura Family. Now, this marriage is purely for convenient, no more, no less. There is no love between Kurei and Isane, and the only reason they have sex is to produce a child that has the ability to wield magic, which is their responsibility as magicians. Truth be told, Isane would have preferred going to war than have sex, and she had a number of one nights stands in her days as a soldier in the Asian War, and Kurei can have any girl that he wants in a snap of a finger.

The Empress, being Isane's teacher, was curious about her children.

Isane and Kurei have three children together.

The Eldest was Chifuyu. Chifuyu is talented enough to be recognized as one of the strongest in her generation, second best in her generation in fact, and she also inherited Isane's signature magic, Astral Projection. Though Chifuyu is powerful in her own right and much more magically talented than Isane, Chifuyu is no match against Isane in a straight fight.

Isane is born for war; Chifuyu is not, that distinction alone is enough for the Empress to know that though she has the potential, she will never surpass Isane.

Their middle child was Madoka. Madoka baffled the Empress because she does not have the talent that her mother and sister has in combat. In terms of Magic, Madoka is promising; having inherited the Orimura family magic, but that is it. Setting aside her potential in magic, there is nothing noteworthy about her.

The fact that her trust can easily be gained by a few flattering words and the fact that she can't stomach death was also disheartening.

The youngest and Madoka's twin was Ichika, and the moment he was born, he had already gained the Empress' interest.

When Ichika was born, he did not cry, instead, he laughed like a psychopath. That alone was enough proof for him to be identified as Isane's son. Apparently, Isane was like that when she was born.

When Ichika and Madoka were toddlers, the person who always calmed Madoka down when she was crying was Ichika. Heaven knows Isane won't do anything to calm her daughter down.

Ichika's weird behavior as a toddler earned him the curiosity of the Empress.

The Empress watched Ichika's growth from that moment forward, and his growth baffled her because it was abnormal.

Ichika matured faster than anybody she knew. At age three, he was already capable of advance movement. Age four, his mind was developed enough for him to understand and construct structures. Ichika created his first gun at that age and he was able to construct traps that were so complex that it was enough to neutralize soldiers. At the age of four; Ichika was capable of fighting a fully grown soldier.

That amused Isane enough that it earned him the love of the devil.

As Ichika grew, the Empress and those who knew Isane wondered if he was truly Isane's son. Ichika was the opposite of Isane. Ichika was cultured, very cultured and aristocratic, loathed fighting, and loves his family like nobody else would. In the eyes of the Empress and those who knew his parents, Ichika was more of a parent to his siblings than both Isane and Kurei combine.

Isane did not give a damn about her daughters, and Kurei will not hesitate to marry off any of his daughters to the highest bidder if he was allowed, just to further his political career.

But still, Ichika is still the son of Isane and it showed, if reflected upon the weapons that he creates. The weapons that Ichika creates even in his young age were advance, high-end, and it was design to complement the skill of the user. The user cannot depend on the weapon, but if the user is good enough, the weapon will increase the user's already existing skill by a large margin.

The technology that Ichika develops is the technology that should have existed in the fourth generation, in the Empress' opinion.

Now, when Ichika turned seven, it became harder for the Empress to monitor his growth. At age seven, Ichika started disappearing, and when he disappears, he covers his tracks so well that he leaves no traces. It both impressed and annoyed the Empress.

The Empress did not consider this relevant but at that year, Sin made his first public appearance by attacking Orimura Kurei.

When Ichika was seven to nine, the Empress notice a change in his eyes that somewhat disturbed her. The Empress observed that Ichika was slowly developing the eyes of an experience warrior, which made no sense whatsoever.

Ichika is the opposite of Isane. He would rather cook a five star meal than learn how to fight. He also does not possess any magical talents; he never showed an iota of magic to anyone.

But Ichika's aura, his eyes, his ever growing power that seems to radiate from his body, it did not lie.

When the Empress looked at Ichika when he was seven to nine, she was seeing a soldier in the verge of becoming a warrior.

The year that Ichika was nine years old, the Empress struck gold. That year, she discovered a person that looks similar to the eldest daughter of her late twin sister, her niece. White hair, blue eyes, similar facial features, the young, eight year old girl was like the carbon copy of her niece.

Curiosity overtaking her, she scanned the mind of the young girl, impress with the girl's mental defense before discreetly breaking it, which gave her access to her mind.

What she discovered in that girl's mind made her smile and giddy with joy.

That girl, the eight year old Setsura, gave the Empress Ichika's secret life in great detail, and she knew, right there and then, that she has Ichika.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_Ichika-sama, welcome home!" The eight year old Setsura greeted her brother enthusiastically as she bowed deeply at the sight of him._

_Ichika smiled at this as he patted her head. "Come on Setsura, let's eat dinner. I'm hungry and I want to try this new recipe." Ichika said as he walked passed Setsura._

"_Ichika-sama, should you be removing you outfit first?" Setsura asked childishly and Ichika chuckled at this as he turned around to face her._

"_Point taken, you want to help me." Ichika offered with a mischievous smile as he found Setsura blushing very cute._

_Setsura nodded slowly as she assisted her brother in removing his heavy coat and mask, blushing the whole time, while Ichika undo his gloves. _

_As Ichika undress, he suddenly blurted out a question. "So how was your day, Setsura?" Ichika asked curiously as he untied his shoes that was covered with blood._

"_Nothing of interest, Ichika-sama. The Empress did visit the school." _

_That off handed statement froze Ichika on the spot as he suddenly stared at Setsura with a startled expression, which surprised the young girl._

"_Setsura, did the Empress ever look at you during her visit?" Ichika answered nervously as he bit his thump, causing it to bleed._

_Setsura, unaware of her brother's nervousness, answered. "One time, and it was only a glancing look."_

_The look of fear then crossed Ichika's face as a drop of blood descended to the floor. _

_Ichika let out a sigh at this as he shook his head. "We are going to be working on your mental defense in our next lesson." Ichika told her as he suddenly face the door and bowed deeply. "Milady, welcome to my humble home. Please make yourself comfortable."_

_Setsura was startled by her brother's actions, but realization dawned to her when the Empress of Japan entered the room, her hands clapping softly._

"_I always knew you were special." The Empress stated before turning her attention to Setsura. "Hello their child, I am your grandaunt as well as your step-grandmother."_

_**(End of Flashback)**_

The first meeting between the siblings and the Empress, the tension was high but it calmed down considerably when the Empress assured the two that she would keep their secret if Ichika would open his mind to her.

Ichika agreed, but told the Empress that he will defend all the secrets that his mind held but would give her full access to everything else. The Empress agreed before she delved into Ichika's mind.

The first thing she discovered was that Ichika's has a formidable mental defense, even better than most of the telepaths that she knew and trained. By her assumption, she deduced that only Isane or Kurazakura could break his mental barriers immediately.

The second thing and the most important thing that she discovered was that Ichika was the perfected version of Isane. Ichika, without being train, has the sum total of all of Isane's skills and talents and more, and he does not have the same weakness that his mother has. Granted, he has more weakness than his mother, but unlike his mother, Ichika can overcome his weaknesses easily.

The third and the most crucial thing that she discovered was that Ichika has a severe case of sister complex. The Empress would go so far and say that Ichika's sister complex is irreversible, but she guess that it was hereditary.

Unknown to the public, Ichigo cheated on his wife with his sister. They didn't have a child in the affair for his sister died in the end of World War 3.

Now, Ichika's sister complex was what delighted the Empress the most. Ichika and Isane is similar in many ways, their combat skills and how they use their magic is mirror image of each other and Ichika, unfortunately, inherited the things that made people consider his mother the devil, but at least it is control.

Now the most glaring difference between them was that Isane cannot be controlled, a person would have more luck winning the lottery seven times in a row than having that devil obey them. Even if you use her son, she will not bow down, and Ichika would escape and capture his captors before gift wrapping them for his mother to play with.

Ichika, on the other hand, can be controlled, and the key is his sisters, more specifically, Setsura.

The Empress realized something when she witnessed how Ichika treated his sisters. He loves them that fact is unquestionable, but the degree of love that he has for his sisters varies.

Madoka, Ichika loves her like an overbearing and protective brother.

Chifuyu, Ichika loves and admires her with an almost unhealthy manner.

Setsura, Ichika loves her more than he loves everything else. At that time, Ichika was already in love with her.

At that time, Ichika was still in denial, and still hadn't acknowledged her as his sister.

In his defense, he was nine years old.

After seeing everything she needed, the Empress instantly formulated a plan that started with one sentence:

"_Setsura-chan, do you want to live with your mother side of the family?"_

The Empress asked Setsura in an act to test the two.

There answers did not disappoint her.

"_If Ichika-sama finds me as a burden, only then will I leave his side."_

"_Setsura is my responsibility, take her, my Empress, then I will strike you down."_

Those two answers, those two statements alone were enough for the Empress to determine how devoted they are to each other.

Setsura, plain and simple, already acknowledge her love for his big brother, and would follow him to the ends of the earth, from hell and back. She will do anything for him; he just needed to give the word.

Ichika, though he was still fooling himself, would fight to the dead to keep her. Ichika, at that time, may not know this or deny this fact, but the reason why he took care of Setsura when her mother died wasn't because he felt an obligation to her well being, but because he wanted her to be his wife someday. From the moment he took her under his wing, he started training her to be his perfect and ideal wife.

Deep down, Setsura knew her brother's intentions and she did not disappoint him. She became the Goddess that Ichika desired her to be, the Goddess that she wanted to worship and have.

Hearing that answer, the Empress meticulously made plans for the two.

The disappointing Fifth Generation suddenly became less disappointing because of the two. Ichika and Setsura, for the Empress, could singlehandedly salvage the Fifth generation, they just needed to be guided accordingly.

Ichika and Setsura were the perfect pair of magicians that she had ever seen in her life.

Setsura was born to be a magician, a great one at that. Every gift, every talent that would guarantee a magician greatness, she possessed it, and because of Ichika guiding her, her talents and in born abilities did not recede but instead, it were developed to such monstrous level.

Ichika may not be as magically gifted as his half-sister, but he made do with what he had and became great with it.

Ichika, guiding him was easy. He was a bounty hunter and a patriot, like every good Orimura. He was already set in leading the next generation; he just needed to overcome his fear of his own power and get stronger. The Empress arranged that by giving Ichika targets that would push him to his limits so that he can surpass it.

Setsura, this was a challenge for the Empress because it seems that the young girl was hesitant to learn anything that did not originate from her brother. Still, it was easily resolve as the Empress gave Ichika every resources he needed to further Setsura's lessons.

For three years, things were proceeding smoothly.

Then shit happens.

The Empress questioned Shirayuki's, her step-daughter and niece's sanity when Ichika informed her, in rage which truly made the Empress question how strong he would be in the future, that she transplanted her decomposition to her daughter. The Empress, being the most celebrated genius of her generation, wasn't aware if transplanting magic affinities was possible, but it seems that Shirayuki found away.

Of course, Shirayuki seemingly botched the procedure and sentence her daughter to a slow and agonizing death, but Ichika would not allow that.

At that point forward, the Empress knew that Setsura would live and Ichika would die for it, and made several changes in her plans. This angered the Empress, in terms of potential, Ichika and Setsura were equal, but Ichika was more of a genius compared to Setsura, and losing him meant losing the magician that can surpass every great magician in the previous generation before him.

But, the Empress admitted, that it was better to have a grieving magician than a broken one, so she allowed Ichika to proceed with his plans.

At the very least, at least the corrupt people in the country that she love so much would lessen. That would allow her to take control of the parliament because of the political vacuum that Ichika's plan would certainly cause.

When everything was said and done, with her daughter, son, and step-son battered and bruise because of Ichika, she patiently waited for Setsura to give her a call. After all, Ichika begged her to take care of her, and she will for the future of Japan.

But again, it seems that fate decided to be kind to her and her country.

Ichika was alive, despite the beating that he took and despite dissecting himself, he was alive and well, and twice more powerful than before.

This delighted the Empress, and Ichika's request for her to turn him into an artificial magician made the Empress ecstatic.

Her initial reservation was a ruse, a test of Ichika's sincerity.

Ichika asking her to turn him into an artificial magician was the Empress one and only opportunity in removing all of his weaknesses. Ichika, truth be told, only has two definite weakness, his inability to perform any magic outside of his affinity and his fear of embracing his nature as a warrior.

His first weakness should not even be considered a weakness. For starters, his Blood Magic can be use in so many ways that it made it irrelevant for Ichika to learn any other magic, and his regeneration made sure that he would be very difficult to kill. Take to account that because of Ichika's genius and curiosity, he made himself versatile by training to be an anti-mage, developing his own unique ninjutsu, and he was the first mage in the world to use pushion as a basis for spells.

Suffice to say, his first weakness has long been overcome.

His second weakness, on the other hand, is an entirely different problem.

Ichika, like his mother, was born for war. He is one of the rare beings that were created in order to fight in wars. He was born as natural warrior, and that scared Ichika more than anything else that he had ever faced or encountered. Ichika knew, deep down, that if he just embrace his true nature, then he would become a being that would surpass his mother as well as the two dragons in a short period of time, but that would also result in him abandoning his humanity, and that alone was enough for Ichika to shy away from his true potential.

The Empress would not have that, and was quite thankful with the opportunity that Ichika gave her. Ichika's main weakness was psychological, something that she could fix if given the chance.

During the operation, the Empress proceeded to destroy everything that made Ichika limit himself. She removed everything that was a hindrance for him, his admiration for Chifuyu and his brotherly instincts towards Madoka was the first to go. She also lessened the feelings of friendship that Ichika has towards all of his friends, to avoid unnecessary attachments.

When the Empress was done, there were now only four things that would allow Ichika to show strong emotions. Only four things now were his natural emotions.

His loyalty to his country.

His respect towards his grandfather.

His admiration and respect for his mother.

And lastly, the most important and the most prominent; his undying love and devotion towards Setsura.

For the Empress, those four emotions alone were the most important thing for someone like Ichika. His priority will be Setsura follow by his mother; heaven knows Isane would go berserk if suddenly her son stop loving her, his grandfather, and finally, the least important to him, was his country.

The Empress doctored the turn of events so that it will also benefit Setsura, as well as give her a responsibility. Setsura will have her greatest desired but she will also become Ichika's leash. This will also be something that would push her to be stronger. She knew that if she died, Ichika would turn into something that would make Isane herself look tame.

The Empress could not help but gave herself a tap in the back. The future of her beloved country was officially salvaged.

Ichika and Setsura were still alive, and they were now satisfied with their lives, the moans of pleasure that was echoing in the room as they made love was the only evidence the Empress needed to be assure of their happiness.

With those two, the next generation will have hope.

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

_**(Scene Change)(Three Weeks Later)**_

Ichika has many things under his disposal. His resources alone can rival that of a small country. So it was no surprised for Ichika to have a jet of his own.

The jet that Ichika was on was one of his best creations. Designed for stealth and equip with the most sophisticated auto-pilot in existence, with weapons that utilizes his blood as ammunition. The jet runs on his psion, and considering how high his psion count is, the jet could fly for a month straight at top speed.

Currently, Ichika allowed the jet to fly in auto-pilot as he laid on the large sofa, Setsura resting in his arms, curled into his chest as he kissed and nibble on her expose skin, from her shoulders upward, while he caress her clothed body.

Setsura was moaning softly at the special attention her brother was giving her. It has been three weeks since the first time they made love, and though they did not repeat the act in the past three weeks, it did not stop Ichika from worshipping every inch of her body via kissing and caressing.

And Setsura enjoyed every minute of it.

"[Ichika, are sure about the people that you would be recruiting?]" The Empress asked through a communication link. It was voice only so that the Empress could not see the things that Ichika was doing to his little sister.

Thought the Empress was sixty plus years old, she is still a tease and a pervert.

Instead of answering, Ichika instead created a wolf of blood that jumped out from his back, careful to not disturb the treatment that Ichika was giving to his lover.

The wolf opened his mouth, and Ichika's voice echoed from its mouth and said. "The people that I would be recruiting are the best of the best. They are not Japanese but they can rival our country's best, they have in the past during the war." Ichika's voice disappeared

"[Will they be compliant?]"

Ichika once again didn't answer as he settled into gently ran his fingers along the sides of her face.

Setsura felt entranced by her brother's touch, his fingers running along the lining of her chin then sliding down along her cheekbone. It felt nice…Very nice.

It took the wolf a minute before opening its mouth, and once again, Ichika's voice echoed from the wolf. "They will follow me that much I am sure."

"[I truly wish that I could share your confidence, but the fact that you are considering recruiting Jack the Ripper, Elegant Bullet, the Human Cyborg, and especially the Psycho is causing me concerns.]"

The reply of the wolf this time was quicker compare to its last two replies. "I can keep them in line if necessary, especially the Bullet. She wanted to settle down in a country after the war anyway, but couldn't because of the bounty in her head."

The reason why the wolf was fast to reply was to muffle the loud moan that escape from Setsura's lips.

It's not her fault that she couldn't contain her moans of pleasure. After their first love making and in the last three weeks that followed, Ichika made it his personal mission to memorize every inch of Setsura's body, which left the young girl very pleasurable and memorable memories.

In that time span, Ichika was able to discover every hotspot in Setsura's body, which Ichika use to give his beloved the most pleasurable time of her life.

Like now, Ichika's tongue licked along the sides of her cheek and continuing to move down her sleek neck. Setsura, knowing what her brother wanted, tilted her head back while her brother proceeded with his kisses. As he came to one particular area, he gave it a long, sexual lick which made her entire body shutter.

Liking the reaction of his sister, Ichika sucked harder with his lips, which reduced Setsura into a moaning mess. Setsura throw her head as she let out a loud cry, which was muffled immediate when Ichika gently put two of his fingers to her mouth, which she immediately sucks like a baby with pacifier. She clutched onto him hard, as she trembled with the treatment that Ichika was giving her. Ichika continued to nibble, kiss, and bite on the area that brings his lover so much pleasure. This continuous assault on one of her hotspot made her breathing erratic and heavier with every passing second.

Although Setsura was really trying to silence her moans, her brother's skillful assault did not help her one bit, causing the Empress to hear her cries of pleasure.

"[Okay, Ichika, I know that you are eager to show how much you love Setsura-chan, but can you please focus on the mission, and control your sexual drive.]" Though she was reprimanding him, the amusement in her tone was evident, much to Setsura's embarrassment.

The embarrassment that she feeling made her entire body blush, which Ichika finds cute and arousing causing him to redouble his effort in pleasuring his lover. His hands finding their way inside her dress, gently cup her breasts. His hands gently squeezing the satiny flesh, running his fingers along her erected nipples.

At that, Setsura's last drop of restraint disappeared as she let out a loud moan, earning her a chuckle from the Empress.

"[She's eleven years old, Ichika; you do not make her pregnant.]"

"I will only make love with Setsura-hime once a month until we graduate high school, so I assure you; she won't be bearing me a child anytime soon." This time, it was Ichika who replied. "As for the mission, Setsura-hime and I will complete it without flaws, so if you may, leave us alone in our own world." Ichika ordered his tone emotionless and cold.

That voice alone was enough for the Empress to get the message. Ichika, a testament of his potential, had already surpass the Empress when he reach the age of eleven, and without his mental restraints, she knew that the young boy could kill her easily.

"Very well, contact me when you finish gathering your crew. Empress Usagi OUT!"

_**REVIEW AND ENJOY**_


	3. Relevant AN: Clearing the Confusion

_**It seems that there are some confusion regarding my two fics: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style.**_

_**Now seeing this confusion, let me clear the confusion…**_

_**For one thing Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style have different settings. Yes, they operate in the same world, but they have different plots.**_

_**Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style focuses on Ichika's life with his family. Remember, Ichika lost his memory of his family, and in this fic, I am focusing on him rebuilding his relationship with his family. And this fic will closely follow the canon of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei…Which means this fic will focus on Ichika's and Setsura's high school life and the emphasis of the changes of society now that magic is prominent…..**_

_**Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style focuses on Ichika's life as a soldier of Japan….There is one significant change in this story compare to Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style that can be bottle up to one statement from Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style…..**_

_"So, Kurazakura was really able to read me with that one slash that she landed on me, impressive."_

_**Kurazakura is psychometric in my fic, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style, and during Ichika's fight with the shoguns, Kurazakura was able to hit him once, and that resulted in Kurazakura discovering about Ichika's history…**_

_**In Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style, this did not happen. Kurazakura wasn't able to hit Ichika, and thus, she and the rest of the Shoguns are unaware of his identity as Sin.**_

_**Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style will focus on Ichika's activities as a soldier, and his would be personal battalion….Instead of focusing the setting on the High School aspect, I'm going to focus the setting on the military and politics of Japan in the era of magic….. Which means that Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei:Infinite Stratos Style will scarcely follow the canon of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei…..**_

_**GOT THAT, GOOD…..**_

_**Now, to not make this update somewhat relevant, here is something extra…..A sneak peak of chapter 5**_

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A hauntingly sweet melody floated over a desolated and burning city, its docile tones swirling around sea of flames that spread like the plagues. In the middle of said ravage city was a solitary figure let loose the melody from the violin he was playing masterfully. He stood roughly five foot ten, with long raven hair which flows smoothly from the top of my head to around my shoulder-blades to his lower back. He has a pale skin and crimson lips, and shining crimson eyes, fringed by long eyelashes. He was wearing a pure black outfit that consists of a tight, black shirt, a black trench coat that goes down to his knees, and black trouser with several pockets. A noteworthy and eye-catching feature about him was the three pairs of pitch black, angelic-wings on his back that ominously glow dark crimson. His crimson eyes, filled with fondness and bliss, watched on in silence as another figure danced in front of him.

She moved along with the grace of a goddess to the melody he provided. In her hands were two small metal fans glinted in the bright moonlight. The razor sharp metal blades in the spines of the white and black fans taking nothing away from their aesthetic beauty. Her soft dance flowed as if the air itself bent to her will. Soft and controlled movements hiding nothing of the fact that those same movements could be used to end a life in a heartbeat. She is a head smaller than her companion. Her brilliant white hair that reaches down to her knees was flowing smoothly with each step. A bluish-white kimono clung tightly to her body, not showing any skin but it emphasize all the curves of her body, a body that could only be described as perfection in and of itself. Light blue eyes that would put any sapphire to shame. Like the person who was playing the violent, she also has three pair of pure white, angelic wings on her back, but the difference was that, although her wings looks genuine, it was undoubtedly fake evident at the fact that it was shinning bright white.

He was Orimura Ichika, son of Orimura Kurei and Orimura Isane. Although to the rest of the world, he was known by only one name yet with many monikers that goes together with the name; Sin. A combat mage of the greatest repute and highest caliber, supposedly skilled enough to the point that just his killing intent could drive any magician cowering in fear under his overwhelming aura. The thought of having to cross blades with him in the battlefield was enough to turn hardened veterans into blithering cowards. Rumored to possess fighting skills that is on par with that of Isane the Devil, and the only one to have ever held his own against Japan's best. He was technically dead, but in truth, he became an enigma and protector of Japan.

She was Byakushiki Setsura, daughter of Shirayuki, the White Pearl, and Orimura Kurei. She was the dirty secret of both the Orimura Clan and Royal Family. Ichika's half-sister, best friend, closest companion, partner, and lover. His catalyst for sanity, his reason for living, and ever since the Bloody Requiem incident and the surgery that turned him into an Artificial Magician, his only source of personal warmth and the only person in the face of the earth that could make him feel like a human being.

Ichika suddenly halted playing his instrument as he looked at one of his subordinates, whom were kneeling before him. Setting aside his favorite instrument, he motion for the man to speak.

"Yes," The cold tone that was release from his lips was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine considering how chilling and emotionless his tone of voice is.

"Milord, the city is in ruins, we have won." The subordinate answered, not showing the effect Ichika's cold voice has in him.

"I see, very well." Ichika muttered as he looked at Setsura, whom was already within arm's length. "My Darling, let us go home." Ichika said his tone changing from stone cold and emotionless into warm and affectionate as he extend his arm and wrapped it around her waist before pulling her close.

Setsura smiled at him. "Yes, let us go home." Setsura replied as she sensually wrapped her arms around his neck. The two shared a smile before sharing a kiss, a deep passionate yet quick kiss.

When they broke the kiss, they shared another smile before they disappeared in a flash.

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_**PLEASE REVIEW AND ASKED ME IF I HAVE TO CLEAR UP SOME MORE CONFUSION...**_


	4. The Gathering

_**Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: The Art of Warfare**_

_**CHAPTER 1.06: The Gathering Part 1**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own IS: Infinite Stratos OR Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei but I own this fiction and any other OC's in this story **_

_ITALIC: THOUGHTS_

**BOLD: MOVEMENTS**

_**A/n: I have been reading too much Fate/Stay Night fanfiction….**_

* * *

_**(Squall POV)**_

Life sucks.

Being a Mercenary also sucks.

I told myself as I loaded fresh magazines to my pistols.

This is the reason why I hate working with Americans; they tend to backstabbed you during or after the mission.

In this account, those Yanks stabbed me on the back after the mission.

The mission that those Americans gave me was simple, a simple retrieval job that should have been a walk-away. My job is to retrieve a disk that some Chinese nobody stole from them, kill the Chinese nobody, return the disk, get paid, simple, right?

NO!

Dealing with Americans is never simple!

I finished the mission, like I always do, and when I returned the disk to my temporary employer, instead of paying me for my services, I found myself surrounded by French Soldiers, guns and CADs pointed at me in all direction.

And hence, that explains my current position. My back against a large wall, soldiers from my former homeland surrounding me, bullets and spells flying towards me in haste, and worst of all, I am down to my last two magazines, which in total gave me 16 bullets.

Against fifty soldiers, ten of which are magicians, I can only do so much before I get killed, or worse, captured.

Life sucks so much.

By the way, my name is Squall Meusel. My country of origin is France, and I am a Superpower or a Born Specialist if you are a twat.

Generally speaking, "Superpower Users" can only use one type of magic; any more would only be variations of the original.

My power is telekinesis. I can control any object that I see with my mind.

I know what you are thinking, in today's era; telekinesis is somewhat of a mundane power.

_Imbécile_, like my old friend, Sin, once told me: it is not about the power, it's how you use your power.

And I use my telekinesis in such a skillful way that I was able to beat magicians with better powers than me.

Yup, with my guns and my telepathy, I am quite strong.

I am the Elegant Bullet after all!

Just as long as I have a gun, I can beat anybody.

Guns are such wonderful instruments. Bullets made completely of metal, able to pierce through any target at supersonic speeds of 300 meters a second-guns are the thing us humans have made, an instrument of battle with no equal. And on this planet, the only person in this world capable of using guns to their full extent is me!

"Squall Meusel,"

My musing was interrupted when the leader of the soldiers shouted at me, his heavy French accent annoying the fuck out of me. "Lâchez vos armes, et les deux bras où l'on peut les voir. Vous êtes entouré! Remise et vous vivrez (Drop your weapons, and both arms where we can see them. You are surrounded! Surrender and you will live)."

Scumbag, I can't see your face, but I can tell that you are lying.

I know I would be killed. Even I know that I can't escape here. My specialty had always been hit-and-run, assassination, and one-on-one combat, and the maximum number of enemies that I could fight with the confidence of victory is 10, 12 if the terrain benefits me.

Unfortunately for me, I am in the open, with fifty soldiers surrounding me, in the middle of Hong Kong, with limited ammunition, and I have nowhere to run.

If I'm able to escape, then I would be expecting Chinese polices and soldiers chasing me. I do have a large bounty on this part of the globe.

Also, capture is not an option. I would rather die than return to my homeland.

The hell that I suffered in the country, I do not want to suffer that nightmare ever again.

I smiled a bit as I raised my guns and aimed at the nearest target.

Let see now, ten people in the front, five people in the right skyscraper, another five in the left skyscraper, I would even bet that those positioned in those skyscrapers are prepared to snipe me at any given time.

I could tell that another set of ten soldiers are fifteen meters from the soldiers in front of me. They are most likely positioned so that, if I escape, they would be able to intercept me.

The ten magicians that came with them are probably prepared to cancel my telekinesis if they see me use my magic, or are ready to bombard me with more spells to further exhaust me or to push me to a corner; like they haven't already did that!

Oh well, like Sin always says whenever shit hits the fan.

Whatever happens, will happen!

"Sin, looks like I'll be following you soon." I muttered to myself as I took aim. "TE FAIRE FOUTRE (FUCK YOU)!" I shouted as I prepared to pull the trigger of my gun.

***THUD***

***THUD***

***THUD***

***THUD***

But before I could fire a single bullet, ten heads suddenly fell from the sky, ten bodies quickly following.

My eyes widen, together with the ten soldiers in front of me.

This was unexpected.

"Stop gawking you idiot." My eyes further widen in surprised at the sound of that familiar voice as chunks of body parts rained down before me.

The voice was cold, with no amount of warmth in them, but I know, for sure, that that voice belonged to an old friend of mine.

An old friend of mine that was supposedly dead for close to two months now.

***SWISH***

My confusion was quickly quenched when ten javelins descended from the sky, skewering the French soldiers in front of me.

Yup, that is Sin alright. I could tell because of how well those Javelins were crafted.

Only Sin would bother making his attacks look good in the middle of combat.

I smiled a bit as I aimed my guns at the other ten soldiers that were scrambling towards me. With Sin as my backup, it is impossible for me to be captured.

"Vous voir tous en enfer(See you all in hell)!" I whispered as I swung one of my guns before pulling the trigger.

***BANG***

The handguns that I am wielding were given to me by Sin after he retired. The guns that I'm wielding were identical to each other, the two having ten inch barrels, and both having inbuilt CADs. Each gun is capable of firing eight .45ACP bullets, at the speed of 450 meters per second, which allows my bullets to pierce ten inch, reinforce concrete.

The names of my guns are Ebony and Ivory.

Ebony is capable of three-round burst, while Ivory is capable of firing a high speed, rotating bullet.

And with my telepathy, Ebony and Ivory are weapons capable of slaying any enemy.

I employed my telekinesis to the bullet that I fired from Ivory.

First, I change the trajectory of the bullet so that it will curve in mid-flight.

Second, I increase the rotation of the bullet that was fired from Ivory, already increasing the high-speed rotation of the bullet.

The result, I was able to kill all ten soldiers with one shot, their heads blasted off their shoulders the moment the bullet touch them.

You know, it is very funny. If they did not panic at the sight of their comrades dying, then I would have had to use at least three bullets to finish all of them off.

I returned my guns to their holster, knowing that the threat had already been neutralize. Knowing Sin, he had already taken out the ten magicians that were hiding around the area.

That is how Sin operates; destroy the most dangerous threat immediately before destroying small fries.

And my assumption was further proven correct when a pack of wolves descended from the sky. The wolves quickly approached the corpses, and started eating the corpses in order to get rid of the evidence.

I cringed a bit at the sound of flesh being torn and bones being crushed. Of all the methods that he has to choose to get rid of evidence, he has to choose one of the most grueling.

I shook my head as I looked at the skyscraper behind me. Using my telekinesis, I flew upwards until I reach the top of the building.

And truth be told, there was Sin standing on top of the skyscraper, looking at his wolves with a calm, near cold aura.

Same old Victorian-style mask and same old gothic-style butler outfit, that is Sin alright.

Although, as I looked closer at him, I could tell that he had change somewhat.

Curiosity over taking me, I descended to his side, and greeted him. "I thought you were dead." Hey, usually, our greetings involved me firing a bullet at his immediate direction.

"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Let's pause for a minute.

Blunt answer, that's common for him.

Cold tone, unusual but not that strange.

Near emotionless voice, okay, that is new.

When Sin speaks, it oozes confidence and comforting warmth. The voice that he had just used just now was neither confident nor comforting.

I looked at him strangely for a bit before speaking again. "I see, so are you here to hunt again?" I inquired curiously.

"No," He answered, and I flinch a little at the sound of his emotionless voice. He was already scary without trying, but with that voice, he is downright terrifying. "I am getting the old crew back together." I was taken a back at this.

The 'old crew' meant…

"You have a big job that requires all five of us?"

"Yes, six digits pay off." He informed me as he stood up, and then I noticed that his posture also changed.

He seems to be more tense than usual.

"Come, we are going to go get Adan next before heading to Russia." He told me as he jumped down.

My eyes lingered at him for a bit before following.

I intend to find out what caused this change on him.

And also, I am excited with working with my old comrades at arms.

_**(Setsura POV)**_

To be a magician is to walk with death, among the many things that Oniisama taught me, that phrase, those words was the most important lesson.

To be a magician is to prepare yourself to be better, stronger than you are yesterday, that has been my Oniisama's creed since he took the mantle of Sin.

As Sin, he had fought every type of magician, every type of fighter. He sometimes triumphed, he sometimes lost, but he always becomes stronger after every fight that he walks away from.

Win or lose, you must improve yourself in every way possible.

And I adopted his beliefs.

I know, as a magician, I could not dream to match the prowess of my Oniisama.

How could I match someone like him in the first place?

Oniisama was born with only two magic, and he is unable to use any magic outside of his affinities.

He is not like me who was born with seven affinities, and still capable of using magic outside of my affinities.

Regardless of that though, Oniisama was still able to surpass his limitations, in a spectacular fashion I might add. I witnessed Oniisama, firsthand, developing his magic, developing skills that would compensate for his weaknesses, developing his talents to the next level, and it was such a magnificent sight.

An awe inspiring experience that never fails to inspire me to better myself.

In fact, I need to better myself.

I am the being that Oniisama chose to be his wife. He chose to disregard his emotions so that he can love me and only me.

Nobody can love me more than that.

And that is the reason why I must better myself. If I can stand beside Oniisama as an equal, I can convince myself that I have the right to stand side-by-side with him, as both his sister and lover.

I must get stronger, stronger than I was yesterday.

"Have you finished the exercise that I have left you?" A familiar voice, a warm voice that only I can experience echoed in the room. I hurriedly turned around, and smiled at the sight of my Oniisama, of my lover entering the secluded room in the private jet.

Behind him was a woman in her early twenties, but I paid her no mind as Oniisama immediately took me in his arms, his lips claiming mine.

I quiver in delight the moment he claimed my lips with his own, the bliss coursing through me at the moment enough to numb my mind and body. I have dreamt of Oniisama kissing me many times in the past, and now that he is actually kissing me, I could not help but forget all of those dreams.

The reality of Oniisama kissing me is better than any dream that I could come up with.

Oniisama pulled back, breaking the kiss in the process, and I know that the kiss that he had bestowed upon me was quick, a chaste one, but it was still enough for me to thoroughly enjoy his touch.

I looked at her with hazy eyes, and he smiled at me warmly as he held me.

"The exercise that I had left you, have you finished it?" Oniisama inquired once again.

I nodded before handing a crystal shard to him. "It is finish."

Oniisama looked at the shard with his eyes, eyes that could see all. Nothing can escape Oniisama's Elemental Eyes, whether be magic or otherwise.

After a moment, Oniisama's smile widened considerably. "Perfect, absolutely perfect. Magnificent, truly magnificent, as expected from you." Oniisama complimented with glee, and I could not help but blush at the compliment.

The exercise that Oniisama left me was simple enough. When he left to collect his friend, the woman that Oniisama brought most likely, he left me a diamond shard, 60 carat in weight. He instructed me to decompose the diamond's weight from 60 carat to 5 carat without destroying the diamond, without reducing the clarity, the hardness, or the overall quality of the diamond.

He just wanted me to decompose the weight. Nothing more, nothing less.

Like every exercise Oniisama required me to do, it is a challenging exercise. Unlike my other six affinities, my Decomposition-type magic was artificial implanted into me. Magic only has one sure and irrevocable rule, and that rule is that magic is hereditary, with me being the exception as my Mama's prize magic was transplanted into me before her death, using unknown means.

Because my Decomposition-type magic wasn't mine to begin with, my Decomposition-type magic is weaker compare to Mother's in every account, and according to the Empress, the level of my Decomposition-type magic, at full power, can only reach a seventh of mama's level.

Oniisama did not accept that, he refused to accept that, and told the Empress that he would train me to use Decomposition-type magic in ways that my Mama could only dream of; he swore to the Empress that he would assist me in surpassing my mama in wielding one of Japan's prizes magic.

And I will not disappoint Oniisama.

Oniisama admitted though, that when it comes to power, my Decomposition-type magic can never surpass that of my mother.

But power is not everything.

Power is one thing, strength is another.

If one cannot reach its true potential with power, then lean on technique.

Oniisama was training me to use my Decomposition-type magic with technique as the primary focus.

"Thank you, Oniisama." I whispered as Oniisama rewarded my accomplishment with another heated and passionate kiss, and I instantly melted in his arms.

I could stay in his arms for the rest of my life.

"A lot of girls are going to get their hearts broken…."

Unfortunately, it was not to be as a rich and feminine voice echoed in the room.

Oniisama broke the kiss and proceeded to give the woman, who was now leaning on the doorframe, a bottle of wine in her hands, giving the two of us lecherous looks, an annoyed glare.

The woman was, to say the least, beautiful. This woman has flowing long hair, is extremely tall, huge breasts, a slender waist and a beautiful hip curve. She's really a beauty. She's dressed beautifully in a purple dress, giving off an adult charm all over.

Although the dress was very fashionable, pretty even, it's something that I would never wear. The dress did not cover much, just the essential. Her arms, shoulders, a good portion of her breasts and stomach, her legs, and her thighs were revealed by the dress.

"Like I care about that." I could hear Oniisama grumbling before taking my hand in his. "Setsura-hime, this is Squall Meusel, the best gunslinger that I know. Squall Meusel, this is Byakushiki Setsura, my bride, my fiancé, my lover, my sister, my everything." Oniisama introduced me to her.

Squall-san, the Elegant Bullet I think is her moniker, approached me and extended her hand. "Hello there, you pretty little thing, I am honor to meet the girl that is capable of bewitching this demon."

I narrowed my eyes at that, but still, I took her hand and shook. When she was about to retract her hand, I gripped it tightly and held it in place, before taking a page out of my brother's playbook.

I flared my psion outward with emotions of anger, rage, and hate fueling it to create my killing aura. I could not turn my aura into something heavy, suffocating, and vile like my Oniisama could do; only he could do that. Each magician have different killing aura.

Oniisama's killing aura would instill unbearable pressure upon every weak willed individual within the immediate vicinity.

Mine was a bit more noticeable, as my killing aura would caused the light in the vicinity to dim and to flicker.

Which is evident as the lighting in the room became erratic.

Squall-san seemed to notice this as she gave me a grin while sweat poured down her forehead.

"I suggest you do not call my Oniisama a Demon." Oniisama is an angel, not a demon.

"You know how to pick them, Sin." Squall commented rather nervously. "She's powerful, I could literally see the massive amounts of psion oozing out of her, and I don't even have your eyes"

"Of course she's powerful. This woman, beautiful and pure, is my pride and joy." Oniisama stated as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I unconsciously leaned myself to my brother's embrace. Just being touch by her is enough to ease me.

"Now, Squall, I shall allow you to accompany my beloved in our trip to the Philippines. It's a four hour flight, and I would have set the jet in autopilot if it weren't for the fact that the Philippine government is restricting any foreign vessel to enter its territory." That's reason why we went to Hong Kong first.

"Squall, I trust you with my life in combat, but if you ever try to even molest my lover, I swear to every God above, I will make you suffer. I will obliterate you, but not before I make you suffer beyond your imagination. I'll hunt you down wherever you hide, and drag you by the throat into a Hell that you won't wish upon your enemies. I'll hack off all your limbs inch by inch, cut off your eyelids, and then force feed you the limbs that I have cut. Then I'll peel your flesh off in strips, slice apart every muscle, carve the Mona Lisa into your bones. And then I'll regenerate you, and do it all over again. I will bestow upon you a hundred deaths, each one more painful and more horrendous than the last. I will make you beg and pray for your death, and when you become a broken pile of shit, only then will I end your misery."

There was silence for a few seconds.

Then I smiled. Nobody can express their love to me more than that.

Squall-san then took a step back.

"Man, you must really love that girl."

"She is my everything."

You are also my everything, Oniisama.

_**(Setsura POV)**_

After that unique introduction, Oniisama left me alone with Squall-san to pilot the jet, steering it to our next destination, the Philippines. It seems that Squall-san heed my Oniisama's warning and did not make an attempt to ogle me, which is a relief.

I took a peak in Oniisama's mind, and I am still surprised that this beautiful woman before me is a lesbian, not that I'm against those people, but considering how pretty, and dare I say it, sexy she is, she could get any man that she wants.

While we drank the tea that Oniisama brewed for us, there was a distinct silence between us. I hope I did not offend her when I exposed her to my killing aura, it's just that I do not like to hear my brother being called names that do not feat his stature.

"So, you're his fiancé?" Squall-san commented suddenly as the beautiful Frenchwoman gave me a critical eye. I felt slightly uncomfortable under her gazed, but I did not show it. This is one of the people that Oniisama respected greatly; I do not want to show weakness in front of her.

"I got to admit, he knows how to choose his girl. You will certainly grow up to be a stunning woman." Squall-san commented after a moment of pause, and I could not help but feel relief at that compliment. Squall-san extended her, and I quickly grasped it and shook it slightly.

"Squall Meusel, people call me Elegant Bullet, but just call me Squall. Being called Elegant Bullet 24/7 really gets annoying." Squall-san reintroduced herself to me, and I could not help but smile.

"Byakushiki Setsura, I am Oniisama's bride." I reintroduced myself as well with a polite tone and poise.

Squall-san raised an eyebrow at my introduction before inquiring. "Oniisama, as in big brother, why are you calling your betrothed 'Oniisama'?"

I was contemplating whether or not to tell Squall-san that Oniisama was my brother first before becoming his lover, but I decided against it for now. I am proud to be Oniisama's sister and lover but I do not know how Squall-san will react, and it is important for her to be here.

"Oniisama took me in when my mother died. He was first my teacher and my father, and when he had a falling out with his sister…." Thank you Madoka for your stupidity. "…I became her replacement, and acted as his surrogate little sister, and then, just a little while ago, I became his fiancé." I explained to her as vaguely as possible, and Squall-san looked a bit apprehended.

"I see," Squall-san muttered as she directed her eyes to my hands. "I don't see any engagement ring."

"Oniisama propose to me in another way." I could not help but blush at the reminder of that day.

I shifted my gazed from Squall-san, which in turn made her laughed. "You and Little Sin had sex, huh!"

I quickly turned my attention to Squall-san, my cheeks as red as a tomato as I eyed Squall-san in surprised. How did she know!?

Squall-san laughed at my expression. "First time, huh?" I could not help but shyly look away, which made Squall-san laugh even louder. "Was he good?" Squall-san asked me with a teasing yet curios tone.

"It is not polite to tell." I answered meekly, and that only made Squall-san laugh even more.

"That good, huh!" Squall said gleefully while exaggeratedly clapping her hands. "I am so proud, that guy ain't no virgin anymore."

Actually, Oniisama lost his virginity at age 10, but I am not going to share that fact to her.

Still, curiosity overtaking me, I could not help but ask the first question that came at the top of mind. "Aren't you appalled at the fact that Oniisama slept with an eleven year old girl."

"Of course not!" Squall-san answered dismissively. "Technically, that's tame compare to my sex life. I've slept with an eight year old girl once, and not to mention the many orgies that I had with countless girls." The grin plastered on Squall-san's lips made me squirm on my seat, and I instantly try to distance myself from her.

I know I could beat her, but I really, really could not help but feel uncomfortable under that craze perverted grin on her face.

Seeing my discomfort, Squall-san chuckled once again. "Don't worry Setsura-chan, I won't try to seduce you or try to get in your pants. I respect Ichika too much to even try that, and he would murder me. I haven't bested him in a fight since our first encounter, and I really do not want to risk my neck against him. Also, I don't go for engage girls that are head over heels in love with their would-be husband." Squall-san assured me as she wiped that grin on her face before adopting a thoughtful expression.

"Still, a lot of girls are going to be broken hearted once this gets out. You may not know this, but your fiancé is very famous in many countries, and a lot of girls would give anything to have him." Squall-san commented, and I could not help but be curious.

"I know Oniisama is famous throughout Asia, but I did not know that he has admirers." I tried to hide the true meaning behind my statement with the best of my ability, but the look that Squall-san was giving me was enough for me to know that she already knew.

"Don't get this the wrong way, Setsura-chan, Ichika never showed any interest in girls before, regardless of how beautiful they are and how willing they are to throw themselves to his feet." Squall-san assured me with a comforting tone, and that would have been enough right there if Squall-san did not add the next statement.

"Which is pity really! Most of the girls that were interested in him were fourteen-years old and up, and most of them are drop dead gorgeous, with luscious and delectable bodies and with different breasts sizes. I would have killed to be in his position back then. God knows most of those girls would be a good fuck."

"Squall-san," I spoke in a low voice. "I understand the reason why Oniisama respects you, but please don't speak with such vulgarity." I told her frankly, and all I got was a smile.

"Ichika told me the same thing the first time we work together for a job." There was a sense of nostalgia in her tone that was startling. "Still, you're lucky, and if I may give you an advice, don't let him go. Ichika, regardless of all the things that he had done as a Bounty Hunter, is a great man, and you are lucky to have him as a lover. Heaven knows that even I would go after him if given the chance, and I prefer girls."

Disregarding the last words of that statement, I already know that. Oniisama had done many dark and vile things in his days as a Bounty Hunter, but I don't care because Oniisama did those things to give me a life, so I do not have the right to complain and, truthfully, if our situations were reverse, I would have done the same thing.

I love Oniisama, regardless of his sins.

"I know, Squall-san, I don't intend to ever let him go." I told her fiercely, and the kind smile that she has was comforting.

And that lasted for a bit as another perverted grin graced her lips. "So, do you want some tips concerning sex? I have tons of experience that I can share to you."

Great, the first person that we had to recruit had to be a pervert, and I must have lost my mind because I actually accepted her offer.

The things that came out of her mouth were words that no eleven-year old should hear, virgin or not.

_**(? POV)**_

So, this is how it ends for me.

Damn, I am going to owe Sin fifty thousand yen when I meet him in hell.

Let's get the introduction over with.

My name is Adan Dangli; I'm a magician that originated from the Philippines.

The Philippines, I love my country.

I am just disgusted at the men and women that run my country.

I mean, come on, we just got invaded by the Chinese two years ago, and we had to get Japan to bail us out, shout out to you Sin-man, and now, once again, we are bending over for those fucking Americans.

How I hate those USNA bastards?

I mean, since the 1980s or even before then, USA, or as they are call themselves now, USNA has been allies with the Philippines. Actually, the term 'allies' is a loose word to describe the relationship between USNA and the Philippines.

The Philippines, as much as I loath to admit, is a colonial state of USNA in everything but name.

The current President of the country is a fucking puppet for the USNA.

And this is what pissed me of the most.

When the Philippines was colonizes by the Great Asian Alliance, Motherfucking China, USNA was nowhere to be seen, and the country that helped my country was Japan and Sin.

When all was said and done, with the Great Asian Alliance running with their tail in between their legs, the USNA arrived with ten warships, and that fucker Silver. Suffice to say, instead of recognizing Japan as our saviors, the government recognized the USNA tards as the reason why the Great Asian Alliance retreated.

I love my country, but I fucking hate the government that runs the country. That's why, instead of joining the Military, I became a mercenary. I don't have to care about the political bullshit of the country, and being a mercenary pays well enough. Also, the battles that I had during my mercenary days were fucking fantastic, and the people that I met, all of them, allies or enemies, were unforgettable.

Now, where was I again?

Oh yes, I am going to die.

How did I end up in this position? Well, simple enough, my luck sucks big time.

Like my old friend Sin, bless the guy's soul, I decided to hang my CAD after the Asian War, and then live the rest of my life in silence.

I'm 20 years old, by the way, and I am also a Born Specialist Magician.

Now, in my pursuit of a quiet life, I opened my own internet shop in the middle of my home town, Baguio City, Philippines. In today's age, everybody can access the internet because of the development of mobile terminals, but because privacy has become very crucial in this era, my internet shop is still profitable because I offer privacy to my costumers.

Life was good for probably two years, until I was discovered by those USNA fuckers.

Who was the dumbass that allowed a foreign military barracks to be built in this small city again?

Long, story short, they found me, they wreck my business establishment, they tried to arrest me, I kick some of their assess, I was hit by ten different tranquilizers, I got knocked out, I was buried alive, and at some point, those Americans had me shackled with some device that prevents me from using my magic.

Yeah, my luck really sucks.

Now here I am, with three minutes worth of oxygen left, covered in darkness, and with only my memories to amuse me.

What a way to die, huh?

Man, why couldn't I die like my old friend Sin? I mean, that guy kicked ass and take names till the very end. He died kicking the ass of the ten best magicians of his country!

What a way to go!

Oh well, not everyone could be Sin.

"Let's see, I have one minute, five seconds worth of oxygen left. What should I do to pass up time?" I wondered to myself, already accepting the death that would befall upon me. "Fine, one last time won't hurt."

I took a deep breath before singing the national attempt of my country.

_**Bayang magiliw,  
Perlas ng Silanganan  
Alab ng puso,  
Sa Dibdib mo'y buhay.  
Lupang Hinirang,  
Duyan ka ng magiting,  
Sa manlulupig,  
'Di ka pasisiil.  
Sa dagat at….**_

***SWISH***

***CRASH***

My singing was interrupted when the lid of the casket that I was shoved into was cut open before breaking into pieces, and the light of the sun blinded me for a moment. I closed my eyes for a moment, and waited for my sight to adjust to the light.

Am I in heaven?

Impossible, I have a one way ticket to hell after that things that I did in Thailand six years ago.

"Nawala lang ako ng sandali, ganito na kayo (I was gone for a short while, and you guys got reverted into this)."

My eyes widen considerably at the sound of that familiar voice. It was cold, the voice was cold, but there was only one man who can talk that arrogantly.

I sat up, my muscles aching a bit, as I tried to find the owner of the voice.

"Sin,ikaw ba yan!? Nasan ka? Hindi kita makita! (Sin, is that you!? Where are you? I can't see you!)" I asked in my native language as I try to find him, but to no avail as I could only see a blur

"Sandali lang (Wait a moment)!" Sin's voice echoed once again, and before I know it, I was covered with light, and I felt my body relaxing.

It seems that Sin used his infamous regeneration on me.

My eyesight returned to normal, and I was finally able to see where I am at the moment.

First, I am in Baguio Cemetery, and it's probably four o'clock in the evening, or a couple minutes pass that.

I also noticed that several wolves were around me, dirt covering their claws.

Across me was Ichika, A.K.A Sin, Squall, the coolest lesbian in the world, and a very beautiful white haired girl clinging on Sin's arm, looking at me curiously with her pretty blue eyes.

Okay, what the hell did I miss?

I turned my attention to Sin, the guy wearing the suit. "Akala ko patay ka na (I thought you were dead)."

"Mahirap akong patayin (I'm hard to kill)." Sin replied and I was taken aback at how cold his voice was, but hey, my amigo is still alive.

"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say Americans." I turned my attention to Squall before nodding.

"Yeah, Americans are like roaches in the Philippines. They are everywhere." I grumbled under my breath as I jumped out of the casket that Squall was levitating.

I turned my attention to Sin and to the girl that was clinging onto him. "Sino yung babae (Who's the girl)?" I asked curiously.

"Ang magiging asawa ko (The person who's going to be my wife)."

Okay, what?

I stared at Sin for a moment, before shifting my gazed to the girl, before back to him. "Congratulations, I would offer gifts and drinks and foods, but I have business to settle with some Americans." I looked at the girl with white hair again before smiling goofily. "Congrats girl, you caught yourself quite a prize." I told the girl with a thumbs up.

The girl smiled shyly at me, which is cute to the max, which made me chuckle a bit.

I extended my hand to the girl while introducing myself to the girl that was able to bewitch my friend, Sin. " My name is Adan C. Dangli, people call me the Psycho."

I saw the girl whispering something lovingly at Sin, which made Sin chuckle in a way that I never saw him do. Sin nodded at his fiancé, the girl extended her free hand and grasped my hand, her hand is quite small, at least a fourth of my hand. She shook my hand before speaking. "Byakushiki Setsura," She introduced herself and I smiled again.

"Good name," I complimented as I turned my attention back to my friend. "Do you need something from me?" I asked, wanting to have at least a conversation with my friend before I head to the USNA barracks, and proceed to kick every American ass that I set my sight upon.

"I'm gathering crew back together." Okay, that's good news.

"Cool, let me just settle this, and then we can collect Jack and the nerd." Yeah, working with Sin, Squall, Jack, and that nerd again would be cool.

"We will be helping." Sin exclaimed bluntly, before shifting his gazed on Squall. "I have a sniper rifle in the jet; you will use that to cover me and Adan. Setsura-hime, you're with Squall."

"Whatever,"

"I won't disappoint you, Oniisama."

Sin then turned his attention to me, and I could not help but smile at the prospect of fighting together with my old friend again.

Blood will rain yet again!

_**(Setsura POV)**_

I gazed upon the large rifle-shaped Specialized CAD that my Oniisama provided for me. This CAD is the latest CAD that Oniisama had built so far, and he built this CAD for me.

The name of this CAD is 'Third Eye', and this CAD was built for me so that I can wield Material Burst like my mother use to. The Third eye is equipped with sophisticated remote precision targeting auxiliary system which allows me to visually perceive information.

"That is one good looking CAD." I could hear Squall-san comment behind me.

I did not mother to look at her as I lifted the CAD. "This is Oniisama's latest creation." I informed her as I put a visor over my eyes, and that allowed me to access the Third Eye's auxiliary system, and automatically, I experience how advance the Third Eye is. I could see everything within forty miles, and even a drop of water, a speck of dust was clearly visible to me.

Oniisama really did created this CAD just for me to wield Material Burst.

"We should get to position." Squall-san told me, her professionalism was showing which is a breath of fresh air.

"Yes," I mumbled in agreement as she and I went to the edge of the building that we were currently standing on top of.

Squall-san and I were overlooking the USNA Military Barracks from our current position, and I must say that the American really has a foothold in this county. 200 hundred soldiers 24 magicians and three dozen Endlaves are in the Barracks.

I was impressed, but in Squall-san's eyes, the number was meager.

"I remember the time our crew took on an army." Squall mumbled as she positioned herself by lying on the roof, the sniper rifle that Oniisama provided for her ready to fire. "The Nerd and I were the once who provided long range cover while Sin, Adan, and Jack charge head on." Squall-san stated fondly, clearly reminiscing.

I was tempted to read her mind to access that memory. Oniisama always allowed me to access his mind, but I do that only scarcely for it would be disrespectful for Oniisama, that is why I did not know that Oniisama worked in a group in his mercenary days. I contemplative for a moment before deciding against it.

It would be rude for me to read the mind of Squall-san just to satisfy my curiosity.

"Have you killed before, Squall-chan?" I expected that question.

"No." I answered truthfully. "But I am ready to kill for Oniisama. After all, Oniisama killed for me many times, it's time for me to return the favor." I lifted and readied the Third Eye, with use of the auxiliary system of the CAD; I was able to see everything in the barracks.

"You really are in love with Sin." Of course, I love him.

"Squall-san, why do you call Oniisama 'Sin'? You already know his real name anyway, why do you still use his moniker?" I asked curiously.

Squall-san chuckled lightly at my question. "The entity that is Sin is different from the entity that is Ichika." She did not say anything more, and I guess that she has a point.

Oniisama has distinct personalities when dealing with the aspects of his life.

"Setsura-chan, if this is your first time in the field, then let me give you some advice. When you kill, don't look at your victims in the eyes. It would be less traumatizing." Squall-san informed me, and I instantly spared her a look.

"Less traumatizing?" I inquired confusedly, but Squall-san did not spare with a gazed as I was rewarded by a serious and downright deadly expression that Squall-san wore as she prepared to shoot.

"The first kill will always be the hardest." Squall-san informed me with a rueful yet serious expression. "You'll see for yourself, but for now, look alive, it's time."

I turned my attention around to the barracks, and using the targeting system, I zeroed in to Adan-san.

Adan-san is a gigantic man, standing at the height of seven-feet, eight-inches, and he was built like a bodybuilder, with gigantic muscles rigging his entire body. His has light brown complexion, and his face was has many freckles and scars. He has a crook nose which goes well with his somewhat curly hair.

I watched him curiously as he activated his magic. Psion flared from him, but the reality around him was not altered, instead, he grew in size until he was five meters tall, his muscle mass also increased significantly, and even though I was standing roughly five kilometers away from him, I could already tell that his body was as hard as steel.

"That is Adan's magic. He can manipulate the pheromones, calcium, and calories of his body to increase his mass and physical abilities. Watch and see." Squall-san told me and I did as I was told.

I watched as Adan-san jumped into the Military barracks, his landing causing a shockwave the shook everyone within arm's reach of him. Before anybody could react, Adan-san went into a rampage. He threw a punch at the nearest soldier, and I almost hurled as that punch was literally able to take the soldier's head off.

What strength!

Adan-san started to went wild as he started hitting everything within reach, with finesse that I didn't expect from someone his size. He is a five meter tall giant, and by looking at his body, he is sporting a 900 pound muscle mass, and he his moving around in such a way that it would put acrobats to shame.

I also noticed that he has no fighting style. He was merely brawling, but it was effective nonetheless. He was punching, he was kicking, he was throwing people in the air with no amount of technique, but considering his size and strength, that is irrelevant.

I saw an Endlave approaching Adan-san and he was able to punch through that Endlave with ease before throwing the four ton machine to another Endlave without any trouble.

In a matter of second, he was covered with blood, with corpses beneath him.

I then saw three dozen soldiers and five Endlaves approaching him from behind, and I was ready to back him up, but I was beaten to the punch by my Oniisama.

Oniisama descended from the heavens, and landed between the charging soldiers and Endlaves, he extended both of his arms, and with a flicker of a finger, everything and everyone around him was cut into several pieces.

That was one of Oniisama's favorite spell, _**[Branch of Sin: Invincible Flash]**_. With the use of his blood, Oniisama creates a set of very long monomolecular razor wires on the tips of his fingers. He then wrapped those wires around his enemies, and then he can restrain them, suffocate, or even slice his enemies to pieces.

I then watched the American soldiers leveling their guns at him, and started firing. But Oniisama would not be hit by something as mundane as gunfire. Oniisama's middle fingers flickered, and instantly, the wires formed mesh shields that block the bullets flying towards him perfectly.

Oniisama did not move as large amount of blood poured out from his body. Oniisama then created several large bubbles that hovered around him. With a simple head gesture, the bubbles flew at high speed in all direction. Upon impact, the bubbles explode and released a cloud of poison gas. The gas acts like tear gas and the effect was instantaneous, as everything caught in the gas suffered from severe sneezing, and also immobilizes the enemy and anyone else near the vicinity.

That is Oniisama's _**[Dawn of Sin: **__**Chloro Ball**__**]**_.

"That's the signal." I could hear Squall-san mumbled as she pulled the trigger of the sniper rifle.

***BANG***

The sound of a gunfire echoed in my ear, but that did not prevent me from tracking the bullet that Squall-san fired.

For one thing, the bullet was travelling at the speed of 800 meters a second, and the bullet was rotating in high speed. The bullet, if memory serves me right, also has armor-piercing capabilities.

I watch the bullet pierce through the shoulder of an Endlave before changing trajectory and proceeded to blast through several soldiers, the bullet piercing everything it touches.

It took me a while but I was finally able to analyze the technique that Squall-san was doing.

Squall-san employed her telekinesis to the bullet that she fired to increase the piercing power of the bullet, as well as control the trajectory of the bullet. The fact that she could follow an object travelling that fast with just a normal scope is something noteworthy.

After the bullet pierce through it thirteenth victim, it finally expired. With that bullet, Squall-san took out an Endlave and thirteen soldiers with ease.

"I know you heard this before, but the only difference between a gun and magic is cosmetics." Squall-san mumbled the words that Oniisama use to tell me.

I am officially impressed with both Squall-san and Adan-san.

I would have marveled at their prowess some more, when I felt psion flaring from the distance. I looked at the source of the psion, and saw three American mages preparing to invoke a spell, all of which were aimed at my Oniisama.

I glared at them as I pulled the trigger of Third Eye.

The only reason Oniisama allowed me to join in this assault was to practice my Decomposition.

The power and the level of control I have in my Decomposition-type magic is very low, it was almost pathetic. Oniisama trained me to such an extent that I could wield all my six affinities as easily as breathing, but I can't wield my Decomposition-type magic that well.

It's bad enough that my Decomposition-type magic is not as strong as my mother, but I am still struggling to wield it properly, even after the three weeks of training my Oniisama gave me, I am still struggling to wield the magic that made my mother famous.

That is unacceptable!

I am the pride and lover of my Oniisama! I need to be perfect, only then will I be worthy of him.

Still, there was one spell that Oniisama created that I am able to wield.

The Decomposition-type spell, _**[Trident]**_.

The spell that I fired from Third Eye was a Decomposition-type spell called _**[Trident],**_ a triple-decomposition magic spell that my Oniisama created to completely annihilate a Magician's flesh and body along with its naturally occurring magic protect barrier,

_**[Trident]**_ is an ingenious, S-class spell. The spell is composed of three magic processes combined into one spell.

_**[Trident]**_ has three magic processes, thus the name.

The first process decomposed the target's protective Wide Area Interference.

The second process decomposed the target's Data Fortification used to protect the body.

The third process decomposed the flesh down to the atomic level.

The decomposition was so complete that it was no longer recognizable as a biological entity and left no traces that this was a living being. Proteins were broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur; the bones were rendered down to phosphorus, oxygen, and calcium; everything including blood, the nervous system, stored nutrients, even waste was decomposed down to the molecules and ions.

The lighter elements, with hydrogen at their head, escaped through the hole in the outer wall to the outside. The flammable elements interacted with oxygen and burst into flames.

This is one of the many spells that Oniisama made to conquer the power weakness of my Decomposition-type magic.

This is the spell that allowed me to take a life for the first time, multiple lives, in fact.

With one pull of the trigger, I fired three _**[Trident]**_, and that killed the three magicians that were aiming at my Oniisama, my spell destroying the magic sequence that they were about to invoke.

With that, I joined Squall-san in giving cover for my Oniisama, and Adan-san.

The only spell I used in this battle is _**[Trident]**_.

And that was enough for this battle.

_**(Normal POV)**_

"So, we go to Russia now." Adan mumbled while drinking a two litter bottle of beer.

"We are going to pick up the nerd of our group." Squall informed him while piloting Ichika's private jet.

The quartet's attack on the Baguio City USNA barracks lasted fifteen minutes, and the result was the utter annihilation of the military barracks. Everybody in that barracks was destroyed, and the barracks was wiped out from the face of the planet, courtesy of Setsura practicing some of her most destructive large base spells on the barracks.

"Squall, what do you think of ichika's fiancé?" Adan inquired.

They call Ichika 'Sin' in the battlefield. Out of the battle field, they call him by name.

"As a magician, she's walking heavy artillery." Squall shuddered, remembering the spell that Setsura cast to level the barracks. "As a woman, I would have that girl fuck me in every position known to man if I had the opportunity."

"And Ichika would kill you in a fashion that would make the Devil of Japan look like a puppy."

The mages shuddered at the mention, at the hint of Isane. Both of them had fought many battles, had face many dangers, and were put to situations that would break any ordinary beings, the less said about their past, the better. Still, they thrive in every challenge that was put in front of them.

But still, both of them were terrified, scared shitless at even the mention, at the thought of Orimura Isane. Squall had worked in Asia in the majority of his career, and Adan was Asian, they have heard and witnessed the cruelty and torture that Orimura Isane bestowed upon her enemies, and they have also experience, first hand, how monstrous she is in the battlefield and in combat.

And also, the two of them have one time been hunted down by her, and Isane took great pleasure beating the fear of God into them. The only reason they were able to escape with their lives was because Squall and Adan amused her enough respectively for Isane to show mercy.

That experience left them both scared and traumatized, and with a healthy amount of fear of the woman named Orimura Isane.

"We do not speak of her." Squall muttered under her voice, and Adan nodded.

"Still, I got to admit, Ichika knows how to choose his lover. Although they are different, Ichika is technique and efficiency personified while that Setsura relies too much on brute force." Adan commented, remembering how savagely and wildly, yet surprisingly accurate that girl fired off her spells during the assault.

"With that amount of psion count, it does not matter." Squall said with a small laughed. "It's laughable actually, the amount of psion that girl has is surreal. We do not need eyes like Ichika to see the overflowing psion that literally radiates from her."

"It's pretty, if you ask me. Setsura's spiritual aura shines forth with immeasurable brilliance without wasting a single drop, while Ichika's aura accurately traces his silhouette." Adan commented while finishing his beer. "Both of them are magnificent, a match made in heaven."

There was silence after that as the two friends broke into a fit of laughter.

"I can't wait. Can you imagine the chaos if the news of Sin, the most desired bachelor in the Asia underground, having a fiancé breaks out." Adan grinned wildly which was match by Squall.

"I don't have to imagine it." Squall muttered with a wild grin. "And you know, I got to give Ichika a compliment. This jet is nice."

"Why did he allow you to pilot again?" Adan growled in irritation, wanting a turn to pilot the jet as well.

"Because I have a license, and Setsura had her first kill, and Ichika took it upon himself to 'comfort' her in the only bedroom in this jet." Squall's grin suddenly became perverted. "Three guesses at what they are current doing right now."

Adan could not help but groan loudly, yet the grin on his face merely became wider, and a small blush on his cheeks. "There is something morally wrong with a 12-year old having sex with an 11-year old."

"With a girl like that, I wouldn't care if she's a 5-year old, I would fuck her too." Squall muttered before shaking her head. "Unfortunately, I am not a fool to touch the untouchable. Ichika would butcher me if I even leer at her."

_**(Normal POV)**_

"Oh, Oniisama!" Setsura moaned as she was on all fours on the bed, with Ichika behind her, thrusting his hips wildly, pounding her, entering her with new found intensity.

Setsura was in pure bliss, her head resting against the mattress of the bed as her body surged with unbridled passion. They didn't stop, from the moment they entered the bedroom, Ichika quickly stripped her of her clothing, and threw her to the bed, before making love with her in a matter the surpass their first time.

Ichika was like a passionate beast. The moment he had her lover naked and laying on the bed, he literally had his hands and lips caressing her body. Foreplay ended quickly though as when Ichika's lips left her cunt to be replaced by his cock, to that very second, he had remained buried in her, had shot off two loads, and induced three orgasms in her, with a fourth on the way.

It blew Setsura's mind at their ability to last a considerable period of time in sex. There first time spanned for eleven hours. She never knew she had it in her to go on for so long, after all, she spent a good portion of her childhood having a weak body and low endurance, and being so young and inexperienced also should be taken as a factor.

Apparently, it did not matter, as her brother's touch was enough to give her the energy and the passion to make love with him for as long as he wishes.

Which also means a trip, multiple trips to nirvana for her.

"Setsura!" Ichika moaned loudly as he increases the speed of his thrusting, and Setsura had to bite the sheets to muffle her screams of pleasure as both of them climax at the same time.

Setsura's arms finally gave in as she collapsed on the bed face first, out of breath but in bliss. Ichika laid on top of her back, breathing lightly. He nibbled on her ear for a bit, earning a moan of approval from his lover.

"You killed for me." Ichika whispered as he reached for her hand. "You shouldn't have. No third rate spells can harm me."

Setsura chuckled at this as she held onto his hand tightly. "Don't worry Oniisama, I regretted killing those people, but it will not bother me. You had done many things for me before, Oniisama, and some of them were against your ideals."

"It was worth it, you were always worth it, every blood that I shed, every foul deeds that I did, were worth it because of how magnificent you turned out to be."

That made Setsura smile, although it was a bit stained. The things that her brother did just for her to have a life was somewhat horrendous and borderline heretic. She loved her brother very much, but even she would admit that some of the things that he did were very terrible…

…and Setsura fell even more in love with him at the fact that he had done those horrible deeds in her name.

Setsura was a princess; she was born with Japan's greatest bloodline, Japan's prize pedigree, the blood of Japan's two strongest clans coursing through her veins. Setsura was a princess in everything but name, and as much as she wants to deny this fact, she has the mentally of a princess of the highest caliber.

The fact that the man that she respected and admired the most, the man that she had loved since she could remember would do those things, things that were against his ideals and morals, deeds that made other people see him as a demon, the fact that he did all those things in her name made her love her big brother more, in an almost fanatical way.

"Oniisama, hearing you say that warms my heart, so allow me to reply in kind. I will never forget the feeling of regret whenever I kill." Setsura swore in determination.

Ichika hated himself for many reason, and one of the biggest reason why he hated himself was because he forgot the feeling of regret whenever he ends a life.

The words that came out of Setsura's lips were the purest form of declaration of love that Ichika could ever receive from her.

"I must reward you for those words." Ichika muttered under his breath as she flipped her over, without removing his organ from her, so that he could look at her. Ichika leaned down, and greedily and hungrily devour her lips before he started moving, thrusting into her again with a new found vigor.

Setsura moaned into the kiss as her hands were pinned to her side, her brother intertwining her hands with his, preventing her from moving. Like she would move if she had the choice anyway.

In her mind, she was in the position that she was born to be in, beneath her brother as he uses her body to his heart's content.

But for Setsura, this was even better. Her Oniisama wasn't using her body, she won't complain even if he did, she was making love with her.

And the joy and pleasure that she was receiving was beyond heaven, beyond utopia.

_**(Setsura POV)**_

"So he is here, huh." Adan-san muttered as the four of us stood in front a small house, made of wood, located somewhere near Byrranga Mountains. "You know, considering his powers revolves around electronics, I expected him to be somewhere in the middle of some city."

"With that kind of Bounty in his head, I don't blame him for staying here." Squall commented while embracing herself, suppressing a shiver in the process.

We are near Byrranga Mountains, it is at least 40 degrees below freezing point, and she still insists wearing such revealing clothing. I really do not get this woman's taste in clothing.

"Do you really need the old man for this job? I mean, the guy is over seventy years old." Adan grumbled as Oniisama knocked on the door.

"I am collecting him not for his fighting abilities, but for his hacking and programming abilities." Oniisama stated calmly while sparring Adan-san a glance. "This man has been the greatest hacker in God's green earth for the last five decades, and one of my country's greatest resource during World War Three."

"I am glad that my legacy hasn't yet been forgotten." The door opened revealing an old man in his early seventies.

I was started at the sight of this man. Adan-san was Filipino in origin, while Squall was French in origin, this man before me was Japanese in origin. Those facial features can only belong to a Japanese.

The man before me was old, roughly seventy-two or seventy three, and he looks very fragile and thin. He was wearing a kimono, with his right arm covered in bandages and hidden in his kimono. He stands at the height of five foot, five inches, which indicates that he is slightly taller than my Oniisama by two inches. He has light grey hair which was baggy, and long, grey beard which looks to be well trimmed. His right eye was covered by a white bandage, and his face was covered with many scars and burns, that I actually cringed at his appearance.

"It's been awhile, Hanzo Gendo-san." Oniisama greeted him with a nod.

The old man gave Oniisama a grandfatherly smile as he returned his greeting with a nod. "I knew that it would take more than the might of Japan's best to put you down." Gendo-san exclaimed with a quet chuckle. "And who might this be?" When Gendo-san turned his attention to me, I suddenly felt uncomfortable, and quickly hid myself behind Oniisama.

Oniisama noticed this, and immediately leveled a sword made of blood to Gendo-san's throat. "She is my wife in all but matrimony, and I suggest you redirect your gaze from her, unless you want me to gauge your last remaining eye from your skull."

"Harsh, very harsh," I could hear Adan-san whispering from behind me, and I could also hear Squall-san grunting is disappointment.

"I can't even ogle her, how is that fair!?"

"Squall-chan, Adan-kun, I am quite happy to see you two visiting this fragile old man." I let out a breath of relief when Gendo-san redirected his gaze from me to our companions.

"Hey, Nerd!" Squall-san and Adan-san greeted in unison, and Gendo-san merely chuckled at the way they referred to him.

Gendo-san then turned his attention to Oniisama, before bowing his head. "My apologies, Ichika-sama, she just reminded me of the White Pearl, a woman that I had worked with in my days as a Japanese Soldier. I respected her abilities, and she and Ayanami Isane were very formidable as a duo."

"DON'T SPEAK THAT WOMAN'S NAME!" Both Squall-san and Adan-san shouted, and I don't have to look at them to know that they are petrified in fear at the mention of Oniisama's mother.

"As amusing as this conversation is, I need you for a job." Oniisama stated as he retracted his sword from his neck, the sword being absorbed back into Oniisama's body.

"I am already packed." Gendo-said replied immediately as he dragged out a suitcase.

My Oniisama raised an eyebrow at the old man. "You were expecting me?" Oniisama inquired, and Gendo-san nodded in confirmation.

"You are not the only one who has access to **Hliðskjálf**." My eyes widen at that revelation.

**Hliðskjálf **is a backdoor entrance of the system called Echelon III, an information interception network developed by the USNA — that can gather information from all over the world. There are only seven people who can access Hliðskjálf, referred to as the Seven Sages.

For some reason unknown to me, Oniisama was able to access Hliðskjálf. According to him, he had met and befriended one of the Seven Sages in his career, and the sage was able to give him the means to access Hliðskjálf.

The fact that Gendo-san was able to access Hliðskjálf is something worth looking into.

"I see, I figured that _man_ will also give you the means to access that system. Since I worked with him in that mission, he had taken great interest in my life, that fucking fake priest. Regardless, it saves me the trouble of explaining things. Come, we are now heading to the Vatican."

Oniisama then turned around and walked away from the Gendo-san, with Gendo-san following suit.

"Adan-kun, carry much luggage here." Gendo-san muttered while casually shoving a large suitcase at Adan-san's hands. "And be careful, some of my best terminals are in that suitcase."

I heard Adan-san grumbled something about demanding nerds, but relented as he held on to the suitcase like it was made of gold. "Made any new games for me?" Adan-san inquired.

"I have a few. I'll let you play it later." Gendo-san said, humoring the gigantic Filipino. "So, do you know where Jack is?"

"She is being held by the Executors of the Vatican Church for five days now. The five of us are going to storm **Archbasilica of St. John Lateran**, we are going to get Jack back." Oniisama told them, and I was confused at this.

Jack is a male name right?

And why did Squall-san and Adan-san looked unnerved at the mention of the Vatican Church.

"So those Italians were able to get Jack, I wonder how much casualties did they incurred? Jack is so excessive with her swords without you holding her in a short leash." Adan-san stated, before having his eyes widen. He stared at me for a bit, before shuddering.

I was confused at that gesture but merely ignored it as I merely cuddled closer to my Oniisama even further. It is getting too cold for my liking.

"So we are going up against the Church's lapdogs." Squall-san grumbled with irritation and resentment. "There are only two types of people that I can't stand. Arrogant Americans and the Vatican's lapdogs."

Now that is very intriguing.

"I know that the Vatican is the center of magic development in Europe, but I do not know that the Christian Church is in possession of a military power." I interjected, joining in the conversation.

"They are not military, Setsura-sama, they are more of a secret police than anything else." Gendo-san told me, not even looking at me which is fine. For some reason, his gaze unnerved me. "The Vatican's Executors are the heretic inquisitors of the Church established in the eve of World War Three. They are tasked to kill heretics in the eyes of the Church. It takes a certain amount of willpower to be part of it, and being able to achieve the title of "Executor" signifies that one is a first-rate murderer that has passed brutal and pious training to become mankind's weapon."

That's a vague explanation, but I think I get it now.

So, we are up against killers of highest pedigree. It seems that Oniisama would be inclined to use the things that he had discovered in our three weeks training camp.

"Regardless of that, we are going to get Jack. I do not give a damn if we have to burn Vatican City to the ground in the process."

_**(Normal POV)**_

***POW* *POW* *POW* *THUD* *THUD* *THUD***

"As much as I like Sin…..." Adan muttered as he proceeded to shove the people that he had knock unconscious to a very cramped locker. "I have mix feelings about us attacking the Church of all things. I am a Christian."

"I could not understand the fascination of humans in religion." Gendo mumbled while slowly removing the bandage that covered his entire right arm.

The group of five arrived at the Vatican Church just before nightfall, and they immediately proceeded with their operation.

They were divided into two groups.

Adan and Gendo were task to reduce the security, while Ichika, Setsura and Squall were tasked to do the heavy lifting.

The task given to Adan and Gendo was easy enough. Gendo needed to have access to a terminal inside the **Archbasilica of St. John Lateran**, and the rest would all be walk in the park.

Gendo's magic revolves around electromagnetic waves and electronic interference, and has the ability to see information gathering on the Internet and is very adept at altering information on a network.

Gendo is able to retrieve and reconstruct information that had been copied over from magnetic and optic memory units. He cannot, however, retrieve data that has been physically deleted, but considering that the current time period is an age where computers link the entire globe, leaving the chances of completely eradicating any data that has been recorded nearly impossible, and as long as any trace of the electronic signal remained, he will be able to find it no matter where it is hidden.

Gendo is also able to track and spy on individuals and targets by using the "connections" of the target or a subject close to the target, using the subject as a marker while overlapping the information dimension with the electronic intelligence network. Closely related individuals, essentially people who are closer on a mental scale, can be used as markers for his magic by setting their movement status, with names as specific variables, and once the target name was spoken, then he can home in on the actual body, since his magic designates names as a symbol of the actual body.

With that said, Gendo was a very lousy fighter. He is a BS magician, with his magic revolving around two fundamentally similar concepts. His magic was meant for espionage, spying and sabotage, not for combat.

That's the reason why Adan was with him. Adan, the Filipino Wrecking Machine, was to be his bodyguard.

The two of them were easily able to procure a terminal is a pseudo-private room, with Adan having to disposed of the guards while Gendo prepared to do his magic.

"Let's do this." Gendo mumbled to himself as the bandage that covered his right arm fell to the ground, which revealed a robotic arm with quite an intricate design. The robotic arm looked like a crystalized right arm with green veins coursing through it.

"Uplink, commence." Gendo muttered as the green veins of his robotic arm glowed faintly. Without touching any of the terminals in the room, the twenty-four terminals burst into life, several binary codes running through their screens." Uplink, complete. Accessing, data…Access Data Complete…Uploading Take Over Program …Upload Complete…Installing Take Over Application …Commencing Take Over Application…Take Over Complete…"

"Sin, I am in!"

_**(Normal POV)**_

"Sin, I am in!"

"Excellent, I want you to find where they are holding her, and do it fast." Ichika ordered while gazing upon the altar of the church. Ichika was an atheist, he did not believe in any Gods, he had experience enough hell to know that there is no such thing as God, but emotions or not, he can still appreciate architectural masterpiece.

The **Archbasilica of St. John Lateran **was an architectural marvel, and the art pieces ranging from statues to paintings was a sight to behold, and Ichika could not help but marvel at the magnificent display of wonders in front of him.

'_Unfortunately, I might level this place.'_ Ichika thought darkly while shaking his head. "Let us hope that I don't have to resort to that."

"Oniisama," At the sound of his lover's voice, Ichika's near lifeless and emotionless eyes softened considerably.

"Yes, my love." Ichika replied, his voice having the spark of warmth that he used to have whenever he was talking to Chifuyu or Madoka. That voiced was only reserve for Setsura.

"This Jack the Ripper, is she really that special that you are willing to level an entire city for her." Setsura inquired with a whisper as she stood beside her beloved brother.

"Are you jealous of her?"Ichika inquired rather worriedly. "You don't have to be jealous of her. Jack, or should I say Maria is merely the only being who I ever considered a partner in the battlefield."

"I do not doubt your love for me, or your faithfulness, Oniisama. Doubting you is foolish." Setsura assured her brother while brushing her shoulders on his affectionately. "I just find it strange that Oniisama would put somebody in a high pedestal."

Ichika chuckled sullenly at those words. "Maria is special, and she possesses the one magic that I want to wield for myself, and also, she is the only being who I can consider a partner."

Now Setsura was now really curious.

Her brother scarcely use the word special, and her brother never envied anyone because of the magic that they wield. Yes, he hated his magic with a passion, but the potential of his magic was so promising, was so great that Ichika rarely shows his displeasure with his magic.

But now, there was a person that her brother admitted that he envied because of the magic that she possesses, and her brother went as far as call this person special.

Truly, this Maria, Jack the Ripper, is a unique being.

"[Sin,]" The sound of Gendo's voice echoed between them, and Ichika instantly press the earphone deeper to his ear. " [Jack is being held 100 meters underground. The security surrounding her prison, both in and out is quite difficult to crack. It would take me at least an hour to break it.]"

"That would be unnecessary, Gendo. Just give me a clear path to her. Setsura-hime and I would do the rest." Ichika told the ancient Japanese hacker, and Setsura cannot help but feel an overwhelming amount of pride at the fact that her brother trusted her to have his back.

She won't disappoint him.

"[Very well, but for curiosity sake, where is Squall-chan?]"

***BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM***

The ground shook violently as several explosions took place all over the Vatican.

"She's around," Ichika answered with a humorless voice.

"[…it often scares me at how some of your strategies are much more ruthless than you mother's, and that is saying something.]"

"I am my mother's son, Gendo, and considering your history with the Japanese Military, that should be enough for you to know what I am potentially capable of and the levels that I am willing to do go for just to get what I want."

"[And that makes you three times scarier than your mother.]"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, please lead the way." Ichika then turned his attention to Setsura before smiling. "Shall we, my darling?"

"Of course, Oniisama."

_**(Normal POV)**_

"That escalated rather quickly, won't you agree, Adan-kun." Gendo muttered in amusement as he allowed himself to look outside, the flames that engulf the Vatican city made him remember the battles that he participated in World War Three.

The blood, the gore, the screams, they were all intoxicating.

Adan shook his head as he watched panic ensued below his vantage point. "Sometimes, I forgot how efficiently and practically ruthless he is. Even before he refused to take a life, he had always been a terrifying genius of combat and war."

"That point of time was when he was the most ruthless. He never killed his targets, but he has no problem leaving them for dead." Gendo argued quietly, remembering the period when Ichika was a rookie in the bounty hunting business.

That time frame was when Ichika was the most dangerous.

Adan snorted at that as he suddenly stood up. "If you ask me, he is more dangerous now than he ever was, and he has that walking artillery that he calls his fiancé with him now." Adan suddenly laughed loudly. "We have a walking artillery and a walking biological hazard marching into the belly of the beast, if it weren't so damn funny, I would pity this place."

Surprisingly, Gendo did not laughed or show his amusement as he felt a wave of nostalgia washing over him.

"The first flight of this generation's dragons, I am honored and humbled to witness it." Gendo whispered with a weary yet honored smiled as he watched the descendants of Japan's greatest magicians took flight for the first time.

And it was such a beautiful sight.

_**(Normal POV)**_

Executors, they are the Church's lapdogs. Every single one of them, every Executor has three things in common.

One, they are all excellent combat magicians.

Two, they are all top of the line murderers.

Three, they are all fanatic Christian, willingly to do anything for their religion and for the pope.

Most of the Executors were orphans, trained and conditioned since they were young. Executors are only taught two things, the relevance of the bible and how to kill the enemies of the church. The way they were raised and conditioned made sure that their emotions were stripped from them, which made them all ruthless and dangerous.

The Church Executor Department has enough power to rival Italy's overall military might. There headquarters was located below the **Archbasilica of St. John Lateran**. Normally, mages would stay clear from their headquarters, from the Executors in general, for they are Italy's, the Vatican's elites.

And those Elites were currently being slaughtered by Ichika and Setsura.

Gendo was a great hacker with prestige in his name, and was able to at least open the passage way to the headquarters of the Executors, which is a difficult task in itself. The old man was able to lead the two several levels down undetected; again, that is quite a feat. He was also able to disrupt the security cameras and sensors in the Executors headquarters, again, that is quite an impressive feat.

But considering that Ichika had bombed Vatican City, the Executors were in high alert and they were able to spot Ichika and Setsura.

Seeing two people not a part of their department, the alarms were quickly raised and the two were attack.

And the two of them slaughtered their attackers magnificently.

Ichika and Setsura knew each other so perfectly that they could move in sync in a moment's notice. They knew each other's powers, capabilities, fighting style to an extent that it was almost unnatural.

Ichika took point while Setsura supported him from behind.

Ichika was the one hacking everybody in front of him.

Setsura was the one defending him, while supporting him with medium to long range spells.

Normally, the Executors know how to counter this basic tactic.

Unfortunately for them, the two magicians that they were fighting are not the usual magicians that they use to deal with.

Yes, most of them had killed strong magicians before.

No, they have yet to fight magicians of Ichika's and Setsura's caliber.

Setsura has seven affinities, and aside from one, she can wield all of them with finesse and grace that would make any being at awe with her skills. But that is not where her true strength lays, her true strength lies on her ability to combine her affinities to create complex and somewhat overpowered spells.

Also, Setsura's casting speed was fast, and the fact that she was able to invoke seven spells, all of which are A-rank in unison, was quite overwhelming.

Ichika was not as magically gifted as his sister, but he makes up for it with his genius intellect and his natural ability to use his anything to everything as a weapon. But his greatest asset was his creativity. In terms of genius intellect, Tabane has him beat by a long shot. In terms of natural fighting skills, Zangetsu, Kurazakura, and even Chifuyu surpassed him, even by a small margin. But Ichika's sheer artistic mind, his creativity was the factor that made him equal to anybody that he faces.

From his weapons, from the way he utilizes his magic, from the spells that he created, from the way he fights and his techniques, everything was a work of art to him, and that made him one of the greats, because Ichika as an artist, always thrives to master and improve his craft.

Alone, individually, Ichika and Setsura are formidable.

Together, they are almost unstoppable.

_**(? POV)**_

I have only been called four things in my life.

My first name was Experiment No. 09782312.

My second name was weapon.

And the name that I cherish the most, the name that was given to me by my savior, Maria.

And the name that was given to me by my enemies, Jack the Ripper.

Life is funny, very funny, I think that is one of the expressions my salvation often says.

I was not born by conventional means, no, I was born from a machine, a genetically altered human being meant to be one thing and one thing alone.

I was created to be a weapon, I was trained and conditioned to be a weapon, a weapon that the church could wield and throw away in any given time.

Essentially, I'm okay with that. I do not know how to be a human being anyway, and killing was everything I know.

And then I met him, a human weapon just like myself, only that he was born by normal means, raised by a family, loving or not was up to debate. This person was given a choice, that much I could tell, and he chose to be like me, a living weapon.

And he was so magnificent at it.

The first time I encounter him was a memory that I will never forget.

He was so beautiful, from his movements, from the way her carried himself, the way he wields his magic, the way he spoke, it simply took my breath away.

I don't know my emotions back then, but I knew one thing, I want to see him again.

I want to fight him, I want to cut him to pieces.

And so, I defected and sought him out.

I found him.

We fought.

And I lost magnificently.

I was lying before him, nursing a large wound from my back and chest, my sides were pierce, but that did not stop me from marveling over his magnificent figure.

As I gazed upon him, I muttered the word that was on top of my head. "Beautiful."

And in return he smiled at me, and told me these exact words:_ "I can't allow a girl with such magic die like this."_

He pointed his CAD at me, pulled the trigger, and the next thing I knew, I was healed.

After that, he took me under his wing. He taught me how to be human, and he taught me how to hunt, much more effectively than what the church had taught me.

My time with him was something I cherish.

And then he left me.

I know that he would leave me. He told me that while teaching me the essentials of being human. He told me that there was a being in his country that he cherishes the most, the being that he worships, the being that he considered his God.

I understood him, and I continue hunting. Being a killer is all I know, and I will live and die as a killer, I have resigned myself to that fate.

He kept on contact with me, of course, he never fails to contact me at least once a month since his retirement, and I was satisfied with that.

And then I heard the news that sends shockwave all throughout Asia.

Sin, the greatest child soldier since Ayanami Isane, died at the hands of his country's greatest mages. He, my salvation, rode, hunted one last time to purge his country of filth, and he was killed for his trouble.

This made me felt an emotion that my salvation called rage, and I hurriedly made my way to Japan to finish the people that my salvation called Shoguns.

It was not to be as when I approach Japan's borders, I had the liturgy of fighting a being named Isane, the one being that my salvation repeatedly and cautiously told me to avoid at all cost.

I fought her, in my rage, I fought her, and I was utterly annihilated by the woman without much effort from her part.

I finally realize why my salvation avoids that Devil at all cost.

I lost, and I found myself being shipped back to Vatican, where I found myself heavily sedated, and up for dissection.

After all, I am a defective product in the eyes of my creators.

I am going to die, but I figure, its okay. My salvation is dead, and now that I am going to die, I shall follow him to his grave.

That is my greatest desire.

_**(Setsura POV)**_

That battle was pitiful.

Yet, I felt quite elated at the fact that Onii-sama and I finally fought together. True, our opponents were pitiful at best, but the high that I felt from fighting together with Oniisama had quelled my disappointment.

But still, from the hype that these Executors received from Oniisama's friends, I had expected a better fight.

Oh well, I don't have to dwell on that as Oniisama and I entered a holding cell that held one person and one person alone.

There was a glass capsule in the center of the cell, and in it lies the person that Oniisama was seeking. She was floating in an unidentified fluid and stared almost blankly at us. Her body could not move as several objects were implanted into her body, paralyzing it with a concoction of fluids that kept her alive yet sedated. She was also gagged for some reason.

And it seems that the very sight of that angered Oniisama.

"Of course they will go to this extent to cage her. She has always been a wild one." Oniisama grumbled under his breath as the two of us approached the tube that held the only person who Oniisama envied magically.

When we were near enough, a large dragon of blood rose from Oniisama's body and quickly engulfed the tube. I know that dragon was composed of very acidic substances, unique and enhance by magic, made from Oniisama's blood. The acid was not ordinary as it corroded the tube into nothing, together with the liquid that surrounded Maria-san, without actually hurting her.

She dropped to the ground with a thud, and I quickly move and took her in my arms. I removed her gagged, and I finally had a close look at her.

She was beautiful, exotically beautiful, I observed.

Caucasian pale skin, dark golden eyes, short jagged purplish hair, a petite figure, yet she is quite small, smaller than me in fact. Though her eyes were in a daze, she has large eyes and long, delicate eyebrows.

"Setsura-hime, cradle her head for me." Oniisama requested, and I obeyed.

"They sedated her with many drugs, as expected considering that no cage can hold her, not with her magic, not with her powers." Oniisama extended his arm, and from his wrist, droplets of blood slowly dripped to Jack, or should I say Maria-san's mouth.

One drop.

Two drop.

Three drops.

Three drops of blood entered Maria-san's mouth to his system, and her eyes suddenly widen, the daze in her eyes disappearing completely.

Maria-san thrashed in my arms, but I held her firmly in place as several more drops of blood entered her mouth.

"Maria, calm down, if you harm a single hair in my bride's body, I swear to the God that you worship, I will end you where you stand." Oniisama's voice cut the air like a hot knife through butter.

Maria-san calmed down at the sound of his voice, and her eyes suddenly move until she was looking at my Oniisama, her eyes having a look of adoration as she stared at him.

"Gabriel," I could hear Maria-san speak, and I was surprised at this.

This is the first time I ever heard somebody referring to my brother as 'Gabriel'.

"Can you stand?" My Oniisama asked as he retracted his arm.

"Yes," She answered as she untangled herself from my arms and stood in front of Oniisama. "You are alive?"

"I am not that easily killed." I could tell that Oniisama was starting to feel irritated at answering that question.

"I am glad." Maria-san whispered, the relief and joy in her tone was evident.

Oniisama must really be important to her.

Oniisama regarded her with a friendly look, before his hand shot forward, grabbing me by the hand. I was startled when Oniisama pulled me towards him, and was even more when I found his lips on mine.

My body froze at this. This is the first time Oniisama kissed me so suddenly, so forcefully…

And I like it!

Oniisama pulled back after that heated kiss, before turning me around to face Maria-san. When I looked at Maria-san, the blank expression that she had did not falter or change, even after seeing us kiss.

"Maria, this is my Goddess, my equal, and my bride, Setsura-hime." Oniisama wrapped an arm around me affectionately. "Setsura-hime, my partner, Maria, also known as Jack The Ripper."

Maria-san stared at me for the longest time before doing something that I did not expect from her.

She knelt down before me, her arms crossed on her chest.

"I am honored to be at the presence of the being that Gabriel cherished the most. I am humbled." She proclaimed at me while bowing her head. "I am as much as your sword as I am Gabriel's."

I was taken a back at this as I looked at Oniisama in surprised. "It's complicated, my love, I will explain it to you later, but for now, Maria, show my beloved your prowess." Oniisama ordered calmly, while pointing at the door.

Several men and women, magicians and non-magicians stormed into the cell chamber, guns and CAD already pointed at us.

They were ready to fire, but two words echoed in the room before a spell or a bullet could be fired.

"Trace On,"

Swords of different kinds manifested in the air, and they are no illusions.

"I am the bone of my sword."

Blood was shed in mass.


	5. The Gathering Part 2

**_Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: The Art of Warfare_**

**_CHAPTER 2.06: The Gathering Part 2_**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own IS: Infinite Stratos OR Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei but I own this fiction and any other OC's in this story** _

_ITALIC: THOUGHTS_

**BOLD: MOVEMENTS**

* * *

"You finally have your legs back." The Empress commented with a small smile.

"I have Ichika-kun to thank for that." A beautiful woman commented while bowing before the Empress of Japan. "Still, I am surprise. To think, one of the most infamous Bounty Hunter in the final years of the Asian war happens to be the youngest son of the Orimura clan."

"I could already see the proud smile on Isa-chan's face." The Empress chuckled at the thought of Isane's reaction if she discovered her favorite son's reputation.

"If only I wasn't crippled five years ago, he and I would probably have many battles together." The woman commented sadly.

"You have regained your legs now. You can challenge him; see how far his skills measure up to yours." The Empress suggested but the woman merely shook her head.

"I have challenged him; I was not a match against him." Strangely, the woman merely smiled. "That is to be expected, after all, I have not use my legs for combat for five years, and he is a prodigy worthy of being called the son of Japan's devil."

"Did he not provide you prosthetics two years ago when you started working for him?"

"Incredibly advance prosthetics, and yes he did, but using those things to fight makes my movements awkward." The woman explained calmly. "As of right now, I am merely a half of the soldier that I was five years ago."

"I am saddened to hear that, but you are still young." The Empress pointed out in a wise fashion. "You can still recover what you lost, and you can still grow stronger."

"I know that, and I intend to be stronger, after all." The woman then shifted her gazed to a picture frame. "I have a new master to serve."

_**(Scene Change)**_

Their lips met tenderly, unhurriedly, _lovingly._ She was his world, his reason for living, his everything. It was because of her that he was still among the living, and it was because of her that he found himself complete, which is why he was kissing her with more urgency, more emotion, more of who he was. She writhed beneath him and her breasts rubbed against his chest in ways that made him want to take her faster than he was allowing himself as they lay on the bed in the pale white room in the jet that they were currently in.

She was the only one, the last person who could make him feel like a human being.

It was funny, it really was, Ichika thought as his mind wonder of while his body focuses on showering his lover the affection and love that she deserves.

Ichika found it difficult to comprehend that he was in the position that he was today with his younger, half-sister no less. It was a funny, and slightly ironic considering what Setsura was to him in the past.

The first time they met, Ichika viewed Setsura as a being whose beauty was something that can never be immortalized on a canvass.

When he discovered that she was his half-sister, born from his father's affair, Ichika viewed her as a person who he was responsible in raising and nurturing. This was also his way in proving to himself that he can be a better man than his father by being a good father-figure for Setsura.

After the two kidnapping fiasco, the first resulted in Madoka distancing herself from him, and the second resulted in Setsura and Ichika being closer than before, Ichika treated Setsura as his little sister, in hopes to fill the void that Madoka left when she decided to not want anything to do with him anymore.

In all pretences, Setsura became a better sister than Madoka ever had to him. Setsura, unlike Madoka, tried her best to understand him, his line of thoughts, his reasoning, everything, Setsura tried her best to understand and relate to her brother with the best of her ability.

Ichika, admitted, that time was probably when he realize how important Setsura is for his psyche.

When he had his heart broken by his first love, Chifuyu, Setsura was the one person that came to his side, comforting him and holding him when he broke down.

That was probably the reason why he decided to die for her.

At that time, he still loved Chifuyu more than he love Setsura, and even though he did not want to admit it, he cared more for Madoka than he care for Setsura.

But Setsura was the only one who had seen him cry and she was the only one who had seen him at his lowest and at his worst, and still love him after those moments of weakness. Setsura did not judge him, and merely loved him.

Ichika, at that time, realize that nobody can love him more than that, and that made it easier for him to part with his emotions.

To love Setsura that way he deserves…any price is worth that.

And he had paid it in full…And did not regret it one bit…

How could he regret giving her his heart and soul?

It was thanks to her that he was still able to live with himself. She was so beautiful, so honest, and yet she too held the same magnitude of power that burned within him, even more so in his opinion. They were both powerful, unnaturally so for their age. They have more power than most full grown and mature magicians have in their lifetime, and they are not even in their teen years yet.

And yet, Setsura remain the same while he changed drastically.

Setsura still remained the pure and beautiful maiden that she was when she was a child, while he changed from a peace-loving and pessimistic child into an evil that would make his mother proud.

Ichika could still count and remember the names of those that he had killed, of those whose lives he had ruined, of those men and women that he had left for dead, the people that were casualties of his actions, of the children that he had orphaned. He still, vividly remember the names and the body counts, and it haunted him, even if he did not have emotions that an ordinary human being has, his past actions still haunted him.

And it will continue to haunt him to his grave.

But he never regretted his actions…And it will not stop him, it will not prevent him from being Setsura's ideal lover and husband.

He darted his tongue into her mouth possessively and she submitted almost immediately, moaning in appreciation of the action while her tongue wrestled with his.

They were already naked, and scent of sex indicated that they had already committed the act, but that did not deter or stop them at the slightest.

What they are is the personification of taboo itself. They are siblings and yet, they had done things that no siblings should have ever consider doing. They have kiss in ways that no siblings should, they had held each other in ways that no siblings should, they speak to each other in ways that no siblings should, and they had made love with each other at the young age of twelve and eleven respectively, and they are currently partaking on that act right now.

If you asked any normal person, either man or woman, they would immediately say that the relationship that the two shared is sick and wrong.

To them, they didn't care at the slightest. Ichika was heralded as both a hero and a villain throughout Asia while Setsura did not care about anything else because.

She finally achieved her deepest desire, and she would fight to keep him by her side.

Anything else is trivial for them, not worth mentioning one bit, not worth their time. For them, it is basic, so basic it was almost laughable.

She was so beautiful, and so _his_.

He was so magnificent, and so _hers_

It was simple, painfully simple.

"Gabriel, Angel," There passionate dance was interrupted by a voice that was so blank that a white board has more personality.

Ichika regretfully removed his lips from Setsura, and answer. "This better be good, Maria." There was nothing but annoyance in his voice.

"I apologies if I am interrupting something, but we have now landed in Japanese Territory." Maria answered, her blank tone having an apologetic essence into it compare to her original empty and blank tone.

Ichika signed in aggravation as he rose from his bed and proceeded to put his clothes on. "Give me a minute, and tell Gendo to not let Adan and Squall wonder off." Ichika ordered while grabbing his shirt that he disregarded to the ground.

"Your will be done, Gabriel." Maria replied, and the sound of her echoing footsteps was enough for both of them to know that she was now heading to the cockpit to obey Ichika's orders.

"That girl social's skills are really nonexistent. I'll have to remedy that." Ichika could already feel his head aching due to a migraine. Maria is a capable magician and a tremendous weapon, and an all around great subordinate, but her social skills as a human being was almost nonexistent.

Ichika could not help but sigh in annoyance. For a country that was so fanatic about their religion and all that crap and bullshit, they certainly know how to disregard the laws of their religion.

Ichika was fixing his trousers when he felt a pair of slender arms around his waist, and the breath of his lover tickling his ear.

"So, it's time."

Ichika signed once again as he patted her on the head. "As much as it pains me, yes, it is time."

_**(Scene Change)**_

"This is the first time I've ever set foot in Japan without so much of a missile coming at me." Squall commented as she set foot out of Ichika's private jet.

"I know what you mean." Adan commented, looking around the private airport, trying to find Japanese soldiers ready to either gun him down or ask for his passport by force. There was none. "Last time I was here, I had at least five squadrons of magicians on my tail, with ShenLong and Schwarzer leading them."

"Lucky you, I had Orimura Isane hunting me down last time I was here." The shudder was not absent in Squall's voice at the mention of the Devil of Japan.

"You children should really not trade war stories at your young age." Gendo said as he looked around the area, a forlorn expression gracing his face as he took a deep breath. "I haven't set foot in my own country for over twenty years now. I almost forgot the feeling of Japanese air prickling my skin." Gendo stated in a rather nostalgic tone.

"Come on now Nerd; don't go all sentimental on us now." Adan replied with a small chuckle. "You're making me miss my own country."

"You patriotic idiots." Squall commented while shaking her head in an exasperated manner. "Luckily for me, France and I don't actually click, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, yes, you've told us your hatred towards your country many times now. No need to remind us for the ten thousandth time." Adan drawled a bit, earning him a glare from the resident Frenchwoman.

"Watch it, Dong, you've never beaten me, and I've beaten you three times already."

"You've beaten me twice, TWICE! The one in Singapore did not count!" Adan defended himself while Squall merely laughed at him.

"Details, details, you shouldn't worry about so many details. I won, you lost, move on, you'll sleep better." Squall teased the gigantic Filipino, while Adan merely grumbled under his breath.

"Children these days." Gendo mumbled with an amuse tone.

"I suggest that you three gather and compose yourself." The cold and blunt voice of Ichika interrupted the small banter between the three as they diverted their gazed towards the strongest being in the nearby vicinity.

Ichika was walking down his jet, Setsura holding his hand and Maria walking behind them, three feet away. Ichika was wearing a plain shirt and jeans, while Setsura was wearing a fashionable white sundress, and Maria was wearing a gothic style dress that somewhat resembled a nun's outfit.

"Don't be so stiff man. This is just another job." Adan commented but Ichika shook his head.

"Our client is the Empress of the Japanese Empire."

That single statement alone made the three froze in shock.

"Usagi-chan!" Gendo exclaimed in shock. "Usagi-chan doesn't use mercenaries, she dislikes using anything that does not originate from Japan. I should know. I worked with her for such a long time."

"Setting aside the Empress' xenophobia, I've told her before that I won't work with her unless I have my team." Ichika told them bluntly as he gazed at Gendo. "And the people here are the only people that I will work with. I will not settle for second best." Ichika added with conviction.

Both Squall and Adan smiled at this, with Squall chuckling for an added effect. "I'm flattered that you find my skills quite impressive."

"I will give credit where credit is due, but may I comment that you should change your outfit when we have the negotiations with the Empress." Ichika then looked up and down Squall, his eyes narrowing at her attire. "I do not want to present the best gunwoman in the world in such a whorish outfit." Ichika exclaimed, showing his disdain at Squall's current outfit, which was composed of a blouse two sizes too small, and a skirt that showed too much of her legs and thighs.

Squall was offended by that as she put a hand on her hips. "This is fashion!"

"For prostitutes." Maria interjected emotionlessly and expressionlessly.

"Ah shut up, I am not asking you, you Christian freak!" Squall said while gazing threateningly at Maria, while the Italian woman did not react and merely stared back at the Frenchwoman with a gaze so empty that a bottomless pit has more content compare to those eyes.

Maria's eyes were so empty that Squall could not stare at those eyes for an extended period and hurriedly directed her gaze to another direction, while suppressing a shiver.

Adan could not help but laugh at this. "You don't have a staring contest with Maria, that's our number one rule."

"You're the one to talk." Squall muttered under her breath.

"If Usagi-chan is our client, why did you land your jet in Yokohama? Why not Tokyo?" Gendo inquired, being the only one who was cautious at this arrangement.

Squall and Adan would follow Ichika from hell and back, and they trust his judgment. Gendo, being the oldest and the most experience among them, as well as the only one who was 'fortunate' enough to work with the current Empress, knew, knew that dealing with the Empress will not be a black and white deal.

"Because Tokyo is the city where the Orimura rules and were the Royal family resides, and you know how those clans react to mercenaries." There was a collective shiver between Gendo, Squall, and Adan. In Japan, there are two organizations that were considered superpowers: the Royal Family and the Orimura Clan. Those two clans have enough man power and fire power to overwhelm a small country, and both of those clans have their respective war mages. Although those war mages were old, they can still level cities on a whim.

Not to mention, aside from the war mages, the Orimura clan has Isane and Chifuyu, and the Royal Family has Zangetsu and Kurazakura.

Seeing that the message has sunk in, Ichika continued. "As for the reason why Yokohama, let us just say that Yokohama is the city where I reside. My estate is in Yokohama and the Reiraku clan is not a military oriented clan."

"Point taken, I'd rather deal with those politicians than deal with those warriors." Gendo mumbled under his breath, deciding to choose the lesser evil than deal with two clans that would cut them down before asking questions.

"Good, now here is our ride." Ichika said as he pointed at the black limousine that was approaching them.

Squall whistled at the sight of the fancy car. "What do you know, Sin has style."

Ichika ignored Squall's teasing as the car skidded to a stop.

When the door opened, everyone's eyes, even Maria's, but excluding Ichika and Setsura's eyes, widen at the sight of the woman that emerged from the limousine.

The woman was twenty-two years old, and can be describe as the perfect beauty, with red eyes and long black hair tied into a half up and with a slender yet athletic looking body. She was wearing a white top with a black fur jacket along with navy short shorts and thigh-high stiletto boots with kneepads.

"You had got to be kidding me." Adan muttered fear evident in his voice as he pointed at the woman that was ominously approaching them. "You have her in your back pocket."

"I thought you were crippled." Squall mumbled in disbelief, while eyeing the woman cautiously.

The woman that emerged from the limousine ignored the statements from Squall and Adan, and merely continued walking towards Ichika. When she was at least two feet from him, Maria stepped in front of Ichika, two broadswords already in hand.

"You will not take another step." Maria warned her with an ephemeral impression.

"Executor," The voice of the woman could only be described as sharp yet silky. "That kind of sword doesn't work with me."

"With the right kinds of runes, even you would be cut." Ichika interjected as he put a hand over Maria's shoulder, immediately calming her down. "She is just like you. She is one of my prize swords." Ichika exclaimed calmly while giving the woman a blank look. "Five years of inactivity seems to not lessen your reputation."

The woman smiled at that statement. "Yes, it seems that people still fear me for some reason."

"You are a very fearsome individual, Misaya-nee." Setsura greeted with a smile.

"Fearsome doesn't cut it, Setsura-chan." Squall muttered while giving the woman called Misaya a weary glance. "Ten years ago, that woman was heralded as the best and most ruthless child soldier in Asia, the second coming of Isane the Devil."

"That devil is my teacher." Misaya's smooth voice cut the air, her voice booming with pride and elegance. "And Squall-san, it is quite a delight to see you in this end of the spectrum." Misaya greeted with a disarming smile that merely made Squall shiver.

"And Adan, how long has it been since we last saw each other?" Misaya turned her attention from Squall to Adan, which allowed Squall to take a deep breath and Adan to cower behind Gendo.

"Hiding behind an old man, I thought you had bigger balls than that, Adan-kun." Gendo said as he gazed at the eight-footer, whom was currently hiding behind him like a child.

Adan merely glared at the seventy-plus year old man. "There are only two people in the world that I am afraid of, one is named Isane, and the other one is her." Adan said while pointing at Misaya fearfully.

Misaya chuckled slightly as while taking several steps and took Setsura in her arms, hugging her in a sisterly fashion. "I told you, young Mistress, that this lot is afraid of me." Misaya chuckled menacingly while embracing the young girl affectionately.

Setsura chuckled at this while returning the embrace. "Sorry for doubting you, Misaya-nee, but still, I'm surprise. I've seen all of them fight, and I can say that they are strong individuals. I kind of surprised that they are scared of you. You are so gentle after all. "

There was a unanimous sound of fake coughs that sounded similar to this: "BULLSHIT!"

Misaya ignored those as she merely patted Setsura on the head. "I am gentle, but this lot saw another side of me that you would see in another time." Misaya then removed her arms around Setsura before facing Ichika.

She bowed respectfully before him. "Ichika-kun, welcome back." Those who merely knew Misaya in the battle field were shock at the way she spoke to Ichika.

Misaya only speaks respectfully towards one person and one person alone, and her name was Isane.

"It's good to be back, Misaya." Ichika acknowledged her with a nod while Setsura returned to her original position, clinging on her brother's right arm. "How are your new legs treating you? Are they to your liking? Have you properly adjusted yet?"

Misaya smiled at this as she answered without moving from her bowing position. "My legs are quite fine. As for my adjustment, I have regained at least 73% of my original mobility, by ends week, I will have regained 100% of my original mobility." Misaya then smiled beautifully, which was hidden from everyone within the vicinity. "By month's end, I would be the same sword that your mother wielded."

There was something in that single statement that caught the attention of both Squall and Adan.

"Wait just a minute, the only person that you have ever followed faithfully and unshakably is…" Adan trailed of as he reanalyzed the statement that Misaya just said.

But Ichika saved him the trouble. "My complete name is Orimura Ichika; I am the youngest child and the only son of Orimura Isane and the grandson of Orimura Ichigo."

Suffice to say that both Squall and Adan almost had an ulcer at that revelation.

_**(Scene Change)**_

"Welcome to my humble home." Ichika stated as he welcome his friends to his estate.

"HUMBLE MY ASS!" Adan exclaimed as he gaped at the sight of the large estate that spans across roughly several acres worth of land and the large mansion that was roughly the side of an entire football stadium that that has roughly four floors.

"How many fuckers did you put away to have something like this?" Squall inquired in wonder as the group of seven proceeded inside of the large estate.

"I don't count my targets. I just collect the bounties." Ichika answered casually as he watched both Squall and Adan looked around his estate in wonder. "Both of you should not be impress. Compare to my Family's estate, as well as the Shinonono's, Sarashiki's, and the Reiraku's, my estate is considered small to average."

"The less said about the Imperial Castle, the better." Gendo commented, not looking impressed at the sight of Ichika's estate.

"I agree with boss. The estate of the Reiraku family is three times bigger in comparison to Ichika-kun's personal estate." Misaya added before giving Squall and Adan a sharp glare. "Behave yourself, you Mongrels. You may be Ichika-kun's guest, but that will not stop me from disciplining all of you if any of you step out of line."

That instantly spoiled both Squall's and Adan's mood as the two immediately settled down. Misaya might have been out of action in the closing years of the Asian war, but they were not fools. They knew, if Misaya wills it, she can beat the two of them decisively.

Her combat skills might have diminished because of her inactivity, but her magic power is much stronger compare to the last time they saw her, and that could compensate for her rusty fighting skills.

So, to avoid a major beat down, the two calmed themselves down, reining in their excitement.

"If I knew that you could prevent those two from being childish, I would have recruited you when I was eight." Ichika commented, slightly impress with Misaya's ability to control both Squall and Adan. Ichika respected Squall and Adan because of their ability and among other things, but he tends to be annoyed by some of their traits, their childishness being one of them.

"I was pretty useless back then, Ichika-kun. I would not have been much help to you because of my handicapped." Misaya commented, flattered at how much Ichika held her skills in such high regard.

"Speaking of that, are you still dating that White Knight bastard?" Squall inquired quite playfully, but she quickly realizes that question was…_taboo _for the eldest daughter of the Reiraku clan when Misaya gave the Frenchwoman a very terrifying glare.

"He and I were not dating, we were engage, and he cancelled the betrothal contract after my incident." Misaya hissed angrily. "Apparently, he did not want to be engage or to have anything to do with a crippled."

Squall flinched at the glare and the harsh words from Misaya. Apparently, that subject was quite stingy for her.

"Which is very stupid for Shirokishi-sama." Setsura commented in Ichika's arms, look over head to gaze at the person that was the closest thing she has for an elder sister. "You are a very beautiful woman, Misaya-nee." Setsura complimented with a sisterly smile.

A smile that Misaya answered with a sisterly smile of her own. "I am nothing compare to you, Setsura-chan. After all…" Misaya then spared a glance at Ichika's back. "You have him." Misaya whispered so that Setsura could not hear her.

Squall on the other hand heard her clearly, and the French National could not help but chuckled as he elbowed Adan.

"Hey Dong, do you believe this?"

"I do," Adan chuckled mirthlessly. "Why does he always get the girls?"

"It's hereditary, probably." Gendo answered from behind the two. "Ichigo-kun was a heartbreaker during his youth."

"Orimura Ichigo, that man on a wheelchair?" Squall was well educated with Japan's mages. She knew who the strongest mage Japan offers as well as the most dangerous. She was quite aware of Japan's two dragons, but still, she doubt if a man bound on a wheelchair can be that dangerous.

"Be cautious Squall," Seemingly reading Squall's mind, Ichika spoke. "My grandfather might have a weak body, but only the Emperor and my mother can fight him with the chance of victory. Even I would lose if I fight him."

And that alone was enough to sate Squall's curiosity. Ichika made himself famous for beating mages stronger than. Regardless of how skilled, or strong, or experienced his targets were, Ichika was still able to beat and capture them. That fact that he admitted that he would be defeated by his grandfather if they fight was enough for Squall to know that Orimura Ichigo was strong and should be respected.

"That aside, I still can't believe you are that woman's son." Adan commented, shuddering slightly at the thought of Isane. Adan was so traumatized with his experience with Isane to the extent that the very thought of her made him shiver in fright. "You are nothing like him." Adan pointed out causing Ichika to look at him blankly.

"I am my mother's son, Adan." Ichika stated, his cold tone really disturbing his crew, san Maria but including Misaya. Ichika's tone and speaking patterns, even the way he carried himself was unlike the Ichika they knew.

Maria was not affected for she did not care how Ichika acted. For her, Ichika will always be her Gabriel, her savior.

Setsura was already used to it. After all, she was the reason why her brother became the person that he is today, and she loves him for it.

"Can I debate that?" Like Adan, Squall could not believe that Ichika was related to Isane. In her eyes, Ichika and Isane were as different as night and day.

"You may, but do not blame me if I lashed out on you, Squall." Ichika turned his head and gave Squall a very cold gazed. "I am my mother's son, and I consider it a personal insult if people do not acknowledge my relationship with my mother."

Squall was silenced for a moment before replying. "I never thought of you as a Mama's boy, Sin."

"You could not blame me for loving my mother." Ichika ignored Squall's and Adan's reaction that clearly says they would beg to differ. "My mother is quite lovable if you get to know her better."

That statement almost made the two mercenaries to puke. Isane and lovable in the same sentence does not compute.

"I agree with, Ichika-sama. Isane-chan was quite a lovable girl when she was in my care. She also has quite a sweet tooth." Gendo commented with a goodhearted laughed, remembering the young girl that was literally born for war and genocide.

"I know that. My mother loves my baking; she is especially fond of my cakes." Ichika suddenly have a thoughtful look. "I wonder if my mother is being fed properly. The servants back home are incompetents when it comes to cooking and both of my sisters' are failures when it comes to anything domestic…" Ichika then glanced at Setsura. "…unlike you my dearest."

Setsura took great pleasure being compared to the full-blooded sisters of his big brother, and the fact that he told her that she was better than them was very delightful.

"Thank you Oniisama, but my cooking is nothing compare to yours."

"At the very least, your cooking can be plated and it is edible."

"Unlike Chifuyu's cooking." Misaya's face was suddenly twisted in a scowl. "That woman is the epitome of incompetent."

"That she is. That she is." Everybody nearby noticed the dark looked in Setsura's eyes at the mention of the eldest Orimura.

Although they weren't able to comprehend much further as they finally arrived in the front door of Ichika's mansion.

Everybody, with the exception of Setsura, Misaya, and Maria, sweat drop at the sight of locks placed on the front door of the mansion. There were at least twenty locks embedded on the door, all of them state of the art.

Ichika momentarily let go of Setsura before proceeding to unlock the main door of his mansion.

Squall took this opportunity to approach Setsura, only to have a broadsword pointed to her neck, and Misaya's hand around her throat.

"Hand where I can see them, Squall-chan."

"Touch or look at Angel inappropriately, you will lose your head."

Misaya and Maria threatened respectfully, and Squall could not help but sweat nervously.

She knew her reputation of sleeping with countless girls would bite her in the ass one day.

"You do know that you are going to marry that guy, right?" Squall, although a lesbian, would admit that Ichika has many qualities a woman would love for a husband, but Ichika's extreme paranoia was a turn off for the Frenchwoman.

"Oniisama is paranoid for a reason." Before Setsura was kidnapped, the defenses in Ichika's house were tamed, after the kidnapping though, Ichika upgraded the defenses to the extent that even the Shoguns would have trouble entering his estate.

"Being a scion of the Orimura Clan is a double-edge sword, Squall-chan." Misaya said while casually pushing the French National away from Setsura. "Being a scion of one of the leading clans of Japan is a very stressing matter. The eyes of the public constantly on you, the pressure of acting befitting the reputation of your clan, believe me, the stress and pressure outweighs the benefits." Misaya commented knowingly.

"It must have been a miracle for Ichika-sama to have kept his actions hidden from the public eye, and from the five clans no less." Gendo then glanced at Setsura. _'It must have taken divine intervention for him to have kept you from the public eye.'_

Gendo knew who Setsura was the first time he laid eyes on her. Setsura's resemblanced to her late mother was uncanny and unmistakable. The fact that Ichika was able to hide Setsura from the eyes of the Royal family and the rest of the head clans of Japan speaks volume to the extent that Ichika would go through just to protect her.

'_I wonder who her father is, Shirayuki-hime?' _Gendo thought while shaking his head. He can already see the pandemonium the moment Setsura's heritage is unveil; if ever it would be unveil.

He was not able to ponder any further as Ichika finally finish opening the door of his mansion, and the group of six proceeded to enter.

"You know what, I expected this but it is still surprising." Squall commented as she looked upon the inside of Ichika's mansion.

One thing about Ichika's mansion was that there were a lot of decors that range from paintings to artifacts to ancient weapons and many other things that Ichika considers as art. The group of seven walked inside and Squall noticed the many beautiful types of furniture, certainly handcrafted by Ichika.

"How did you find the time to make these things?" Squall inquired, pointing at the furniture that was in front of her.

"I made them before I became a bounty hunter." Ichika answered as several robotic wolves appeared before them.

"You designed your Humanoid Home Helper as wolves, why am I not surprised." Adan grumbled, which was ignored as Ichika faced them.

"Misaya, please escort our friends to the conference room." Ichika ordered his gazed lingering on Misaya for a bit before directing his gazed to the other four. "The Empress will be waiting for you there. She will explain the job and its specification, as well as the payment for our services. Behave yourself, though that woman is over sixty years old, she can still take all of you down with little to no problem."

Gendo nodded, knowing how fierce and powerful the Empress of Japan is.

"Are you coming with us, Gabriel?" Maria asked, her usual monotone have some sort of warmth.

Ichika shook his head. "Setsura-hime and I will not be joining you in the briefing. It would be pointless seeing that we already know what the job is."

_**(Scene Change)**_

"It has been a long time, Gendo." The Empress greeted as the four mercenaries were lead into a spacious conference room with a round table in the center of the room.

"Not long enough, Usagi-chan." Gendo greeted before bowing his head. "Or should I call you Empress?" There was mocking in his elderly tone.

Misaya glared at Gendo at the disrespect that he showed the Empress, and was in the process of mauling him, but the gaze that the Empress' directed at Misaya effectively calmed the Reiraku down. "Please do, breaking proper protocol is a crime before the royal family."

There was a look of disgust that crossed Gendo's face, but he was able to rein in all the negative emotions that he was feeling before occupying the farthest seat from the Empress.

Maria, Squall, and Adan instantly noticed that their client have history together, but they shrugged the feeling away. Gendo was very professional, he will not let his personal feelings compromise their job.

"So, this is the crew that Ichika-kun worked with." The Empress commented, eyeing everyone in the room, causing all of them, even Maria, to stiffen. They didn't know why but being gazed upon by her made them feel like that woman was scurrying their life. "I must say, I am impressed, especially with you." Her gazed landed at Maria, causing the former Executor to take a step back.

"Don't scare them, Empress, especially Maria." Gendo warned grumpily. "Maria-chan can kill you."

"That, I have no doubt." The Empress then looked at Misaya, and gestured for her to vacate the room, which she did without complain. "Now, before we begin, I would like to introduce myself. I am the Empress of Japan."

The Empress paused while looking at the three mercenaries to introduce themselves, which they did.

"Maria,"

"Squall Meusel,"

"Adan C. Dangli,"

"You already know me, so I won't waste my breath."

The hostility between the Empress and Gendo was so immense, that it could be cut with a knife.

The Empress nodded before showing them a bracelet that was undoubtedly her CAD. "I won't waste my breath to explain, so I will merely show all of you the reason why Ichika-kun gathered all of you here."

There was a bright flash of light that enveloped the room.

_**(Scene Change)(Thirty Minutes later)**_

"So let me get this straight…" Squall mumbled while trying to ease her throbbing headache. Beside her, Adan was doing the same while both Gendo and Maria looked apathetic.

In the last thirty minutes, they had Ichika's entire life uploaded through their brains.

"Ichika's full name is Orimura Ichika, and he is the son of that Devil." Squall still can't believe that.

"That he is." The Empress answered in an affirmative while nodding at the gunslinger.

"And Setsura-chan is his half-sister, a girl born from the affair of the former heiress of the Japanese Throne and Ichika's father."

"You are correct." The Empress once again answered in an affirmative, secretly bemused at the look the gunslinger had on her face.

"And Ichika became a bounty hunter to provide for that girl…"

"That honorable idiot." Gendo commented while shaking his head in disapproval.

"It is to be expected. Gabriel is a man of morals." There was a hint of respect and adoration in Maria's apathetic tone.

"He has too much morals if you ask me." Squall commented before continuing. "And after Ichika retired, he was rape by Chifuyu…" Squall suddenly covered her mouth as the sound of swords rattling from nowhere echoed in the conference room.

"Squall, please do not remind me of the suffering Gabriel suffered." Maria's tone was emotionless and toneless, but there was underlying anger in her voice that send shivers down everyone's spine, san the Empress.

The Empress was looking at the Italian with interest in her eyes. So far, she liked Maria the best among the four people in the room.

'_Where did Ichika-kun found this little gem, and why is she so loyal to him?'_ The Empress wondered, but she figured that she should count her blessing considering that Maria will now be serving Japan.

"Moving on," Adan interjected, entering the conversation. "If what you showed us is correct, and assuming that you want to hire us for our specialties for your project, it is, Ichika had a relationship with the Ice Demon, which is purely sexual, got his heart broken, which made him fight the best magician of this country to the death."

"That was one hell of a fight." Gendo commented with a faint smile.

"It was," Both Adan and Squall agreed, proud at the fact that their friend was able to fight such monsters with a severely broken psyche.

"So Ichika fought those Shoguns to weaken himself until he can no longer regenerate. He succeeded and proceeded to dissect his organs from his body before transplanting them to Setsura-chan. Again, he succeeded and he died in the process."

"Of course, Angel will not be Gabriel's God if she would let death claim him." Maria exclaimed coldly, smiling at the memory of Setsura reviving his salvation. "Angel truly does deserve my loyalty."

Squall looked at Maria for a second before nodding. "After Ichika was resurrected, he approached you…" Squall pointed at the Empress, which further amused the Empress of Japan. It has been a long time since somebody gesture towards her in a disrespectful fashion. "…and begged you to destroy his emotions but the emotion of love that he has for Setsura-chan."

The Empress smiled while Gendo gave her a blank look.

"You must have been happy for someone of Ichika-sama's caliber to beg you like that." Gendo spoke while shaking his head in disgust. "You still haven't change, Usagi."

"Everything for the country, Gendo, everything for the country." Usagi dismissed the ancient hacker with a simple wave.

'_Those two don't like each other.' _Squall and Adan thought in unison. Since they entered the conference room, they felt tension between Gendo and the Empress of Japan.

Still, with much difficulty, Adan spoke. "Because of what you did to Ichika, he and Setsura are engaged to be married…" There was a look of discomfort on Adan's face. "Do you have any idea how wrong it is for two siblings to love each other like that?" Adan was a traditionalist, but he was not disgusted with his friend and his friend's bride, merely unnerve.

"For Japanese Clans, just as long as there is a 75% chance that a child will be born normally, interfamily marriage is allowed. Of course, this law is barely followed, but it does exist." Gendo explained, once again looking at the Empress. "If they are that compatible, I guess there is an 80% chance that Setsura-sama can bear Ichika-sama a normal and healthy child."

Not to mention powerful, Gendo nodded in his thoughts while intently looking at the Empress.

The Empress merely nodded. "Actually, there is a 97% chance that Setsura-chan and Ichika-kun can sire a normal and powerful child."

"Just thinking about how powerful their kid will be is nauseating." Adan grumbled, but Squall merely smiled perversely for some reason.

"Incest sex, never experience that before." Squall commented with sultry tone, earning her looks from her comrades and the Emperor.

Maria merely whacked the Frenchwoman over the head before pointing a broadsword to her neck. "Get your head out of the gutter, and behave yourself." Maria lectured the gunslinger, but Squall merely laughed dismissively.

"Let's get to the main issue at hand, shall we?" Gendo suggested, and the tone that he used was able to bring everyone back to the subject. "You want Ichika-sama to build you an Anti-Mage Battalion, and Ichika-sama wants the four of us to assist him in doing so."

"Are you asking me what I am prepared to offer?" The Empress asked coldly, with a tone of disgust.

Gendo was not fazed. "Don't bother; as long as it is Ichika-sama and Setsura-sama leading, then I am willing to follow."

"The same goes for me." Maria then stood up and bowed slightly at the Empress. "I shall follow Gabriel and his Angel to my dying breath." With that said, Maria made her exit, closely followed by Gendo, which left Adan and Squall alone in the room.

The Empress spared the two a glance, waiting for them to speak.

Squall, seeing that look, merely smiled sheepishly. "I like Ichika, but I would really like to negotiate the terms of my service."

"Same goes for me." Adan added with a small, embarrass smile.

The Empress sighed, she had expected this. "Your bounties will be rescinded in the country of Japan. Citizenship will be issued for all of you immediately, ignoring due process. One hundred thousand yen salary per month, not including thirteenth month pay and bonuses, and Ichika-kun will also be willing to pay fifty thousand yen a month for your services. You will also avail of all the benefits that magicians in this country enjoy." The Empress stated, looking at the two with calculative gazes.

So far, both Squall and Adan like what they heard, but if they are going to teach people how to kill magicians, there is still one thing that they would like from the woman.

"This Anti-mage battalion, will it operate outside of the Japan's Military Jurisdiction?"

"Yes," The Empress answered with a nod. "The Anti-mage division that Ichika-kun will build will only answer to the Emperor."

"In other words, Kurazakura will one day be our boss." The Empress had to do a double take as Squall spoke her daughter's name with fondness. "Okay, I'm in."

"I as well agreed with this arrangement." Adan added in agreement.

_**(Scene Change)**_

"So…" Squall trailed of as she and the rest of Ichika's crew as well as Setsura and Misaya sat in a round table, a delicious looking feast prepared in front of them.

Ichika was seated beside Setsura and Maria, with Squall seated between Maria and Misaya, both Adan and Gendo were trying their best to look invincible. Adan was seated next to Setsura and Gendo was seated next to Misaya.

"Do you have any further inquires?" Ichika looked at Squall blankly. "For living arrangement, you and everyone else here do not have to worry, I will cover everyone's living expenses for the next year and the housing for all of you have already been prearrange." Ichika told them, but Squall shook her head.

"Not that, I actually don't care about that." Adan could not help but snort at that statement.

"Says the girl who always complained about our base of operation whenever we worked in a country for prolong period of time." Adan commented, remembering how much of a hassle to please Squall whenever they decide a headquarters for some of their jobs during the Asian War.

Squall gave Adan a dry look before directing her gaze once again towards Ichika. "You and Chifuyu…" Squall earned herself a slapped across the face by both Maria and Misaya, while Setsura glared irritably at the Frenchwoman.

'_Idiot,'_ Both Adan and Gendo thought in unison while proceeding to help themselves with the food presented in front of them. Ichika was a good cook, emotions or with no emotions, and they are going to enjoy the meal that he prepared, tension and awkwardness be damn.

Ichika, if he was affected by those words, did not show it as he proceeded to mirror both Adan and Gendo and proceed to fill his plate with food. "The relationship between Chifuyu and I is a memory that I do not want to remember, ever." There was a distinct look of regret that briefly crossed Ichika's face. "I was a fool to have ever held affection for her."

Squall cringed at that blunt statement. The Empress had shown them many memories that belonged to Ichika, and she had even shown them some sexual intercourse that Chifuyu and Ichika had undertaken. She had seen the look in Chifuyu's eyes whenever she had sex with Ichika; she had seen those kinds of eyes with some of her partners before.

Though people may debate this fact, but Squall was sure, she knew that Chifuyu was in love with her brother, she just doesn't know how to express it.

'_What the hell is up with that clan?'_ Squall wondered mentally. There were two daughters of the Orimura clan in love with their own brother, with the said brother loving both of them in a way that was supposed to be forbidden.

"Chifuyu has always been a fool. She could not accept everything good in her life." Misaya stated casually, filling her plate with food, which was mirrored by Maria. "She had a wonderful mother, and yet, she despised her."

Adan actually choked on the food that he was eating. "I mean no disrespect, but Isane is not the mother type."

"My mother is a wonderful woman." Ichika defended his mother while giving Adan a look that scared the Filipino Psycho. "I do not care about you personal feelings for my mother, but insult her again in front of me; I promised you that I will hurt you."

Adan was still struggling to come in terms with Ichika's blank expression and tone, but even he can detect the anger in his tone.

"I'll be shutting my mouth now." Adan grumbled while shoving more food to his mouth.

"It is hard to believe that Ichigo-sama was unaware of what is happening in his own house." Gendo commented but Ichika merely shook his head.

"Chifuyu and I were close at one point, it is not strange for her to come to my room and stay in my room for long periods of time."

"Do you want me to kill her, Gabriel?" Maria asked coldly.

"Don't bother with her. She is not worth the effort." Ichika answered, sparing her partner a glance. "She is not worth anything."

"She was never worth anything." Setsura growled irritation while feeding her brother a piece of meat.

"Always has and always would." Misaya agreed with a nod.

"Won't Ichigo-sama be suspicious of your prolong absent." Gendo interjected, a memory of the current head of the Orimura clan suddenly coming to mind. "You are his favorite Grandson, and it would be bad for everyone's health if the Orimura's starts searching for you."

The influence of the Orimura family in Japan was second only to the Royal Family. The fact that the Orimura Clan, specifically the head of the family, was unaware of Ichika's extracurricular activity as well as Setsura's existence speaks volume at how well Ichika covered his tracks.

"If Grandfather is worried about me, he would have summoned me or contacted me. He might not be aware of my activities, but I have given him the means to contact me if necessary." Ichika answered dismissively. "Grandfather knows that I can take care of myself. I have my own resources to utilize if needed be."

"Ichigo-sama is a worry wart if memory serves me right." Gendo had to fight back the chuckle that threatened to escape his lips. If Ichigo remained the same after the war, then Gendo has no doubt that the head of the Orimura Clan was worried sick for his Grandson.

"Do not concern yourself with such trivial matters, Gendo." Ichika said, effectively ending the conversation.

And with that, the dinner between the seven magicians that would be the core of Japan's Anti-mage Battalion continued in silence.


End file.
